Jack and the Doctor
by Brianna.T.Wedge
Summary: Slash between Jack Harkness and the 10th Doctor. A story of romance, adventure and discovery involving a building, a small snow village and a dragon.
1. Chapter 1

Jack held his hand tentatively. The rubble crashed to the ground, debris scattering everywhere, as the building around them plunged into a pile of rubble. The clang of metal, crumble of concrete and sparks of fire lapping the falling walls were echoing through the disintegrating halls as the Doctor and Jack pressed themselves into a corner. Jack was smothering the Doctor, protecting him from the deadly falling metal and glass shards, as the Doctor curled into a tight ball against the wall. Had they known that this would happen, they probably wouldn't have stepped out of the Tardis. Well at least Jack liked to think so.

The rumbling quietened down, and they looked out into the room. Things still fell, and the dust in the air was choking them, but they thought they had seen out the worst of it. Coughing, Jack loosened his grip on the Doctor and sat up.

"You didn't have to smother me like that, Jack." The Doctor spoke to him through the cloud.

"Oh yes I did, I wanted to. I wouldn't have let myself not protect you from harm." There was a hint of an ulterior motive in Jack's voice, alluding to his inner feelings towards the man below him. The Doctor registered this, but brushed it off. He didn't want to even think about the feelings that he tried to keep buried deep within. Jack stood and walked towards the centre, seeing if it was safe enough to vacate. Honestly, he had expected the building to be in worse shape. Next thing he knew, there was a rumble that knocked him off his feet. More of the roof caved in, and Jack only saw a glimpse of the Doctor before the floor crumbled around him, causing the Doctor to plummet into the darkness below. Jack screamed and dove towards him, but it was too late – all he could do was listen to the Doctor's yell echo throughout the halls in the floors below him. Peering over the edge of the hole, not caring about the instability of the floor, he couldn't see anything. It was dark – no sunlight shone into the severely damaged lower floors. And, to his dread, he could tell that probably several floors were missing in that spot. Meaning the Doctor had fallen meters onto a jagged, rubble-strewn pile of debris at the bottom. He was tempted to jump down there himself, knowing that he would find the Doctor when he revived again. He hesitated because of thinking how insistently the Doctor had talked about his dislike of Jack's continued dying.

Noticing a cable trailing downwards into the darkness, Jack grabbed it and pulled to ensure it was secure. He then lowered himself down as quickly as he could, until he reached the end of the cable two floors down. However, he was unable to successfully stop himself descending down the cable and slid of the end to fall into the darkness below. Luckily, there had only been a floor left for him to fall until he hit the ground level. He was right, the ground was filled with sharp metal piercing through broken concrete pilling upon the floor. He took a torch from within his jacket, only remembering then that he had one, and searched for the Doctor.

"Doctor?" He coughed into the dust. "Doctor! Where are you?"

Jack looked up, and tried to see where he would have landed. To his dismay, he found blood smeared across some of the rubble. Running closer, he saw that the spots were dripping from a squashed pile of rubble. Luckily, he thought, it was a pile of plaster and insulation… a softer landing than the metal spearing from the heap and splintering wood. Behind the pile, as he ran, he found a single hand upon the ground.

"No…" he uttered as he knelt beside the Doctor. He was bleeding profusely from a gash on his head, his arm was broken and twisted in odd angles, his shirt was soaked with blood and his leg was shredded deeply allowing the cracked bone to be seen from where Jack gawked. He dropped the torch and pressed his ear softly on the Doctor's chest, desperately hearing for those four resounding thumps. His heart sank to the silence, but jumped again when the sound of a soft pounding of a single heart was heard. Panicking when this was the only sound heard over several seconds, Jack grabbed the Doctor's mouth and exhaled forcefully. Relieved at hearing the next inhale come from the Doctor himself, Jack sat backwards and tried to catch his own breath from the shock.

"Doc, come on Doc… you'll be ok." He spoke, as he investigated further the injuries. It was more a plea of hope than a statement of certainty. And he knew that the Doctor couldn't regenerate from everything – and not when he was unconscious. And even then, the man he loved would die and a new one would take his place.

Jack pulled of his overcoat and placed it over the doctor, and tore up his sleeves to press against the bleeding on the Doctor's head. Even in the dark, the stark contrast of red on white was frightening. Shifting his coat for a moment, he looked at the chest wounds, and was relieved to see that they were superficial. His leg, however, was a different story. Quickly ripping more of his shirt, Jack made more long strips of cloth and a small clump of rags. Upon placing the padding over the gash, it quickly turned bright red. Using the long strips Jack fastened the padding in place, all the while attempting to close the wound. At the very least, the Doctor was not conscious for this part. Jack knew all too well what agony these wounds would cause, and how much worse it would be when Jack did what he was doing.

Suddenly Jack became aware of his surroundings again, as small rock particles and dust fell on top of his face from above. He had been so absorbed in the Doctor's injuries that he had forgotten that they were at the bottom of a large building that was falling to the ground. Looking up, he saw where the rock had come from: the roof of the floor they were on was crumbling under the strain, with large cracks appearing before his eyes. Knowing that he had little time before tonnes of steel and concrete buried them alive (and most likely dead), Jack knew he had to get the Doctor out of there. He picked the bloodied skinny man up and carried him against his own body, his overcoat still covering the Doctor. Jack had decided that the Doctor's life was more important than causing any further spinal injuries he had by moving him. He sprinted through the rough ground, avoiding obstacles of rubble and attempting to not trip over with the addition of the Doctor's weight making him very top-heavy.

Just as Jack vacated the area, the roof gave way and collapsed upon the floor. He squeezed through a gap on the side of the crumbling wall and out into the daylight. There was no one there, the entire place was abandoned. His only hope was to get to the Tardis – which happened to be almost on the other side of the forest that spanned in front of him. Jack trawled up the embankment, heaving the Doctor's dead-weight in his arms – careful to make as little jerks as possible. It was steeper than it looked, and much looser soil than he expected. His boots sunk into the gravel, and the bottom of his coat became covered with mud. After slipping a few times, and half an hour, Jack made it to the top of the bank to the edge of the forest. Panting, he lay the Doctor down on the soft grass so that they both could rest for a moment. Jack dropped to the ground next to him, but made sure to keep an eye on him at all times. Looking down at himself, Jack saw that he was covered in sweat, mud, concrete dust and blood.

"I look as if I've just had a building fall on me, then walked away up a muddy bank." He joked to the motionless Doctor, trying to lighten the mood in his own mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Why had they come here? To Jack, it seemed like a lot of pain for little improvement. Sure, the people were saved - but they were all now displaced, because their small city was crumbling to the ground. And while yes, he and the Doctor had managed to stop a nuclear reaction, many of the inhabitants were already dying of radiation poisoning. A lizard, relatively small but solidly build, crawled up onto Jack's chest as he lay there. The creature looked at him, and then curled up on the warmth. Jack didn't mind, he had liked these forest lizards when they arrived.

"At least all other life here will go on." He spoke to the lizard, and gently stroked its back. It was this simple thing that changed his mind, that made him realise what the Doctor saw. Despite the pain, they did the right thing. Life was precious.

Suddenly Jack sat up, much to the annoyance of the lizard which scampered off into the bushes. The Doctor was stirring, slightly moving his head and arm as his breathing changed from constant to rapid and uneven. Jack lightly put his hand on the Doctor's shoulder as he moved over to look down upon his face.

"Hey Doc, don't try to move." Jack spoke down to him.

The Doctor opened his eyes, and let out a groan. Followed by a yelp of pain.

"Jack...what...what happened?" He spluttered, barely able to talk and hold back outbursts from the pain. "Oh god, it hurts... why...why haven't I regenerated?"  
>"Because you were unconscious, and now on your way to healing so don't you dare give up now."<br>The doctor rolled his eyes, but feared Jack was right - his body had started using its energy to heal this current body, and not change it entirely into a new one. He tried to sit up, get a better look at his surrounds and himself, but was pinned down by Jack. Not that he needed much restraining, as the shooting pain and instant dizziness that arose from the attempt kept him where he was.  
>"Seriously, don't move. You've been hurt bad, and you'll just make it worse. At least stay still for a little while. We're going to have to move soon...and you'll wish we weren't. We have to get back to the Tardis."<p>

The Doctor had his face scrunched up, and slowly moved it side to side.  
>"Tardis." He spoke, clearly unable to utter another word without shouting. The Doctor knew just how far away the Tardis was. Jack took out the pad he made with his shirt in the building and wiped it across the Doctor's forehead, trying to clean up the blood that had started spilling out of the wound again. The Doctor looked up at the man, and saw the fear in his eyes. He tried to give him a quizzical look, and Jack understood the message.<p>

"I don't know how bad your internal injuries are. And... I'll need to splint that leg of yours properly so you can try to walk."  
>Choosing to ignore the thought of putting more pressure on his leg that he could feel was fractured, he responded slowly, and breathily.<p>

"Honestly, I am bleeding internally. Not badly, but I'll need the medical equipment in the Tardis to heal that properly. And one or two ribs seem to have punctured a lung - but not too badly either. Just enough for a little air to escape."  
>"Doc stop trying to make out that it's not bad. You have to be strong, yes, but saying something isn't as bad as it is just so I let you do things is only going to hurt you further." Jack said, completely aware of the Doctor's ploy to try and put on the brave face and walk on his own, to take care of himself. The Doctor didn't want to have to rely on Jack, didn't want Jack to have to take care of him in such a way.<p>

"What happened?" he asked Jack, wanting an answer this time.  
>"You don't remember? You fell, Doc. The floor gave way beneath you and you fell. Down to the bottom of the building, onto a pile of rubble. There...was nothing I could do... I'm sorry."<p>

"You couldn't stop it, it's not your fault." The Doctor said, slowly remembering being inside the building as it plummeted to the ground, the floor cracking and then falling into the darkness. While Jack didn't entirely blame himself for it, he was glad that the Doctor had said it. Looking at the sky, the Doctor looked at Jack.

"It's going to be dark soon. And we have to get out of here and into shelter, there are creatures here that hunt at night by the sky - and the scent of blood will be an allure too strong to resist. But they dare not enter the forest themselves. And besides, the nuclear reactor - while it isn't going to go critical anymore and wipe out half the planet, it is still leaking radiation. Harmless to you and me, normally, but under the circumstances I don't know how well I could handle it."  
>"Why has no one told me of those creatures?"<br>"We were a little busy Jack."

The sky was burning orange now, and the clouds were beginning to fall towards the ground. Jack stood, walked towards the base of the closest tree and returned with three sticks. Two shorter ones, and one long one. Jack took out the rest of his shirt, and turned to the Doctor.

"You ready?" He asked, regrettably.

"No." the Doctor replied, but scrunched his face and turned away, bracing himself.

The Doctor couldn't help it. He screamed and yelled into the silence of the setting sun as Jack bound his leg. He did it as quickly as he could, but also that it wouldn't fall apart. Moments later, he found himself panting as much as the Doctor. He hated causing the man pain, but it was unavoidable. After several minutes of quiet moans, the Doctor used his good arm to wipe the tears from his face.  
>"What about your other arm?" Jack asked, honestly not sure what to do. Splinting it too would be ideal, but he doubted the Doctor would allow him to do it.<p>

"It'll be fine. I don't need to grab things with two hands. Just use that last couple of strips to bind it to my chest."

Jack complied, and placed his coat over him once he was done. Darkness had settled, and it was starting to get cold very quickly.

"Jack, put your coat on. It's going to get colder, and I can handle colder temperatures more than humans. You can't walk about shirtless...despite how much you might like to." The Doctor instructed, and Jack chuckled. It was good to see that he was at least attempting humour. Taking his coat off the Doctor, and slipping it onto himself, Jack stood.

"Ok, time to get going then. I have a lighter in my pocket, to make a fire. I got you this large stick to lean on, and you can lean on me too. You can always lean on me." Jack spoke, the last sentence having more than a literal meaning. Jack helped the Doctor up, after receiving a nod of approval. He was careful to not grab too hard, or touch his wounds. Still, the Doctor shouted in agony. It pained him to hear it, like knives bearing into his skin. Finally the Doctor stood, draping himself over the stick - wobbling as if about to fall. Jack pulled him more towards himself, and wrapped the Doctor's good arm around his shoulders. The stick fell to the ground. So much for that idea. The Doctor was still panting, with shallow rapid breaths.

"I forgot...your back! Was it injured?" Jack gasped, ashamed to have forgotten that a fall from that height would have caused spinal damage.  
>"Yes," the Doctor breathed, "But I healed it already. Took priority, so I could move."<p>

Not wanting to waste time, Jack began leading him forwards into the forest. He heard a screech in the distance behind him, and felt a slight shudder run down his spine. Not for his safety, but for the Doctor's.

The undergrowth was thick, and made traversing it very difficult when the Doctor could barely lift his legs. He was right, it had gotten a lot colder. Frost was beginning to form on the leaves of the trees, which sparkled in the light of the two moons above. Jack was glad to be wearing his large coat again. Onwards they walked, the Doctor continuing to gasp in pain. If only there was something that Jack could do to help. After two hours of trudging through the ferns and the gravel, a large rock formation appeared in a small clearing. Deciding that this was as good a place as any, Jack walked towards the large stone shelter...relieved to find that the boulders formed a small cave that would provide protection from the wind, rain and...despite not needing to worry about it...aerial attack. The Doctor had fallen into a semi-conscious state a while back, not being totally aware of what was going on around him. Only able to keep one foot in front of the other, half limp on Jack's shoulder. Walking into the small cave Jack laid the Doctor down, in the far side of the cave. This was met with another painful gasp, but the Doctor soon fell into unconsciousness upon hitting the ground.

It must take a lot of energy to heal those wounds, Jack thought to himself as he scrounged about for a few soft leaves to put under the Doctor's head, and a small rock to put his feet on. His next venture was to gather small twigs and dry foliage to make a small fire at the mouth of the indent that they were going to spend the night in. He also gathered some larger logs for when the fire got going. Taking out the lighter in his pocket, he sparked the fire to life on the dry leaves. He built up the pile of burning wood, placing thicker pieces on top. He put the larger logs beside him as he sat next to the Doctor, ready to move them onto the fire when it roared up more. He wrapped his arms around his knees and pulled them to his chest as he looked out towards the stars. He enjoyed the warmth of the fire, and put more wood onto it every now and again. The smaller and duller moon rose over the treetops and illuminated the clearing. He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there, but he wasn't tired. He normally didn't need as much sleep as regular humans, even though after today's events he could do with a few hours. But he dared not sleep, he wanted to stay awake for the Doctor.

The Doctor stirred, and made some strange noises. Jack looked at him, and concluded that he was now sleeping. That was good. By this stage, many of the logs had been thrown on the fire and their coals were radiating warmth into the small cave.  
>"Have you been watching over me all night?" the Doctor spoke quietly, causing Jack to snap his attention towards him.<br>"Yeah. Can't sleep. But that's ok. I don't need much sleep anyway."  
>Deciding it was better to just take comfort in Jack's actions than to argue, the Doctor moved slightly to make himself more comfortable.<br>"Thank you." He all but whispered, before drifting back off to sleep. Jack smiled, and watched as he slept. In the combined light of the fire and the moon, he noticed how pale the Doctor was looking. He had, of course, lost a lot of blood. But luckily he can replenish it quickly, much like the time on the moon when he had met Martha – she had told him the story of the plasmavore.

Jack looked back over the trees, and saw a winged figure fly into sight then drop back down below the tree line, screeching as it did so. It looked like a giant bat, with a small thin tail and little spiked arms and legs. Jack couldn't see its head. But seeing the creature did make him wonder – why wouldn't they go into the forest? The only thing that scares a predator… is a bigger predator. He was making himself nervous, but he couldn't stop thinking about it now. He looked out into the darkness shrouding the trees around him, only broken by the luminescence of the small ferns that glowed in the dark. Under different circumstances, they would be pretty – glowing blues and greens with the odd speckle of pink in intricate patterns on the fern leaves. He was looking for a silhouette stalking about between the ferns and trunks, or the reflection of eyes staring at him. After a while, he became less worried about finding creatures of the forest and spent the rest of the night in a slight daze, looking from on thing to another, lost in thought.


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor woke in the morning, with the sunlight shining upon his face. Looking around, he saw the fire had diminished to all but a few smouldering coals, and the forest was slightly wet from the frost. Small birds were singing in the joy of the new light, and all the small creatures were busily rushing about in the morning dew. But there was something missing: Jack. Where was he? Instantly, the Doctor was worried he'd been abandoned. Being so vulnerable at this time, he depended on Jack more than ever. And couldn't do anything without him. Why would he leave, after all that has happened? Suddenly the Doctor heard movement in the forest from a much larger being. Before long, Jack's head popped around the stone wall and peered into the cave. He was smiling at the Doctor, and the Doctor smiled back – relieved that he was there.

"Morning." Jack spoke, walking closer.

"Morning. I thought you'd left me."

Jack looked shocked, but amused. "Why would I ever do that? You need to trust me more Doc. No, I was just off getting some breakfast."  
>"I'm not hungry."<p>

"I don't care. You're eating it. You need to keep your strength up, because you need energy to heal and walk all day."

The Doctor opened his mouth to argue, but yet again felt defeated before he even started. There wasn't really much point in fighting. He knew that if it came down to it, Jack would force the food down his throat – the man had no boundaries like that.

"Fine. What did you get, then?"

"Fruit. Mainly those weird spiky purple skinned apple things that were like watermelon inside but blue. You know, the ones we had yesterday?"

"Oh they weren't bad… and good for you too. I really should get some for the Tardis. But I was wondering, did you find any plants that had bright blue flowers, with white striped leaves?"  
>Jack thought for a moment. "Yeah I think so, but they didn't have any fruit on them."<br>"They aren't fruit bearing plants. The leaves, if blended up, are a good painkiller. The people here used them in a paste they put on wounds, and I would really like something to dull this pain."

Nodding, Jack stood and left. Moments later he came back in with the fruit he described, and placed them down next to the Doctor. He helped the Doctor sit up against the wall, and moved the fruit closer to him.

"Eat all of these, and I will be back with your stripy leaves. But …how am I going to make them into a paste?  
>"Just smash them with a rock. It doesn't have to be a paste, just gooey enough to stick to me. Do you have any water?"<br>"Um, not as of yet…but I will get you some."  
>"Easiest way is to get those big fern leaves that have a deep cup in them; they fill with dew in the morning. If you could get a few of those, would be good. You can mix the leaf paste in with some water in those, and drink the water in the others."<br>"Is it safe to drink?"  
>"Better really than plain water, it's full of antioxidants from the fern and vitamins."<p>

"Ok, I'll be back soon." Jack concluded, staying until he saw the Doctor take a bite from the strange alien apple-watermelon.

Jack returned with the water, and somewhat messily made the pain relieving paste for the Doctor. He helped the Doctor smear it over his wounds before getting everything ready to move on for the day. Lifting the Doctor to his feet, Jack moved out of the small cave and looked about the forest.

"Um, ok, quick question: which way is the Tardis?"  
>The Doctor tried to stop his panting (in an effort to hide the pain behind his teeth) so that he could reach out with his mind. He could feel the Tardis calling out to him, shouting where she was. The gentle hum in his mind reverberated with her concern for his health, and he tried to calm her. He knew that his Tardis wanted to help him, but she couldn't move on her own without him inside.<p>

"That way." He said, nodding his head slightly to the left. Jack wished that he could also share the telepathic bond of the Tardis, but also knew that it was a special connection between the Doctor and her.

Hours passed, and they had been trudging through what felt like the same dense undergrowth. It was all so similar, that Jack had to remind himself that they had actually moved to another area. The Doctor was still pale, but didn't gasp in agony as much anymore. The paste must have helped, Jack thought…proud that he was able to do something to ease the Doctor's pain. There were many fallen trees upon the mossy forest floor that required detours or even for Jack to carry the Doctor over the top – he still couldn't lift his legs too high. The Doctor had been able to stay alert enough to continuously direct Jack which direction to walk, but still had an aura of being in a daze about him. Jack hoped it was just a result of his healing.

They had a short lunch break, eating more of the purple fruit that seemed to be in abundance. They had had a break every half an hour, since the Doctor couldn't walk for too long at a time. But still, it was draining him, and the painkilling paste wasn't making him immune to the pain of the injuries. But it did help. He sat with Jack, able to sit up now without help but still having to lean upon a tree. He was hungry, but not at the same time. It was only an hour into walking that he had thrown up his breakfast, and despite tasting the spiky fruit in reverse, he still was content with eating more. Jack stood, and walked over to seat himself next to the Doctor up against the tree. He passed the Doctor some of the water he had saved, who drank it thankfully.

"We've still got a fair way to go." The Doctor stated, with a tone of disappointment.

"It didn't seem so far to walk last time."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But I suppose we moved a lot faster on the way to the city, and it wasn't as strenuous then. And it was enjoyable." The Doctor answered. Jack refused to acknowledge the feeling within him that this trip was, in some way, enjoyable as well. Not the Doctor being in intense pain - but the fact that the Doctor was leaning upon him and depending on him. He enjoyed that. The contact.

"Best keep moving, hopefully we will get there tomorrow." the Doctor stated, and attempted to move upwards. Jack took his arm, and lifted him to his feet. The Doctor wrapped his good arm around Jack's shoulders and they continued onwards.

They were surprised at how hot it was getting in the midday sun. The sun was fairly orange, heading towards the red giant stage of its life. Jack was becoming uncomfortable with the silence, and wanted to take the Doctor's mind off the pain and the exhaustion of walking. He didn't speak before because he was waiting to see how the Doctor was handling things. But he seemed ok, considering. Jack looked at him, and he smiled back up. And so Jack began to tell the Doctor stories of his life, comedies of course. Particularly of some awkward intimate moments he had experienced – and as it turned out, he had enough to last hours.


	4. Chapter 4

"And the next thing I know, we're being asked to leave by security." Jack laughed. "They seemed a little uncomfortable, escorting us to the door. I looked up to them, and asked if I could at least have my clothes back – so one of them went to fetch our clothes from the elevator."  
>"I don't believe you actually did that…well actually I'm not surprised." The Doctor laughed, imagining how awkward it would have been for the other group of people in the elevator at the time.<p>

"It's not like it was entirely our faults – we had been drugged the night before at that party. It was still in our systems…and I think some of the guests were more offended at the fact that it was two men that participated rather than the sex itself."  
>"Well at least it wore off."<br>"Yeah, I guess."

A short silence fell, and Jack was quickly thinking up another moment that he could share. He had hoped that maybe the Doctor would feel in the mood to share something as well, but was still content to be the only one sharing anything.  
>"Would you like to hear about the time that I was teaching a class…"<br>"You? Teaching?"  
>"I'll take that as a yes, then?"<br>"Let me guess: you slept with one of the students."

Jack looked at him in mock shock. "Doctor, I'm appalled to think you would think I would take advantage of a student!" he teased.  
>"Well did you?"<br>"Um maybe just a little." Jack laughed. "But to be fair, he was my boyfriend at the time and he had dressed up as a student (it was a university, first year, and I knew him from the army) to attend a class I didn't know he took."  
>The Doctor looked at him blankly. He was enjoying Jack's efforts to occupy his mind, despite him progressively feeling worse.<p>

"Ok so I was teaching military tactics and history, and it was a big lecture theatre so I couldn't see him that well until he came up to me at the end of the class. I was surprised, and he explained that he had been studying there since the start of that year – and since I was just a guest lecturer, he hadn't expected to see me there. I hadn't seen him in a long time. So one thing led to another and we were kissing a lot at the teacher's desk. It was empty, the theatre, and would be for another couple of hours. So we thought it was as good a place as any. We were both naked and too preoccupied to notice on of the doors opening, and after we shouted each other's names we heard a third voice. Looking around, we saw the head of the department standing there in shock – he had walked in with the intent of taking an extra graduate class and found both of us half on the teacher's desk in a less than favourable position. Needless to say I was asked to never return to the university, and they replaced the desk that afternoon." 

The Doctor laughed, but coughed amongst the laughs. Eventually the laughter shifted to gasps of pain that left him breathless and leaning much heavier upon Jack's shoulder.  
>"Sorry, I need to rest for a moment." The Doctor mouthed, as he allowed himself to drop to the ground. Jack lowered him enough for him not to hit it hard, and laid him on his back. The Doctor panted, shallowly, as he rested upon the soft earth.<p>

"I'm sorry." Jack stated as he sat next to the Doctor, looking down at him in concern. The Doctor shook his head, as if to tell him not to be sorry, but was unable to say anything. As Jack looked, he saw that the Doctor didn't look to be improving…despite what he said. There was fresh blood scattered on his chest and running down his leg, and while his arm no longer looked distorted, it still was limp. But his skin was still deathly pale, cold and clammy with sweat dripping off it. Jack placed his wrist upon the Doctor's forehead, and felt a searing heat. He was slightly confused as to how his forehead could be so hot yet his arm be so cold – but he assumed it had to do with blood loss in certain areas. It was the heat that worried him more, indicating the presence of an infection. Things just kept on going from bad to worse.

Suddenly the Doctor seemed unable to breathe, and made continual coughing and spluttering sounds. Jack quickly lifted him upright, allowing him to cough easier. After a minute in which Jack didn't think he breathed at all, the Doctor coughed up clumps of blood and gasped for air. Jack rubbed his back in small circles, but careful to not touch anywhere that was broken or sore. He didn't know what to do – it seemed like that while the Doctor had more energy to walk from feeling less pain, and some of his injuries were improving, he wouldn't be able to walk for much longer. Not if this blood he coughed up was from the puncture of his lung, and this fever indicated the presence of an infection. Jack laid the Doctor back on the ground. Trying to remember his medical training over the years in the field of infections, Jack looked at the Doctor again. There were definitely routes of entry to the bloodstream, and opportunity for entry. His breathing was fast, and shallow. Jack took a hold of the Doctor's other wrist to feel his pulse. He was both surprised and expectant of the rapid heart rate he found. Jack feared the Doctor had sepsis, and knew there wasn't anything he could do to help until he got him to the Tardis. Jack had forgotten that he was still holding the Doctor's wrist, until the Doctor grabbed onto his hand.  
>"Jack." He uttered, before closing his eyes.<p>

"Doctor? Doctor wake up!" Jack yelled, lightly tapping his cheeks and touching his forehead. Jack knew that they had to find a place to rest for the night soon, since the sun had started to set. And because he doubted that there was much walking left in the Doctor for now. But they couldn't stay there, Jack concluded, so he lifted the Doctor up to his feet. He was limp, but made a groaning sound as Jack moved him up onto his shoulders so at least he wasn't completely out of it.  
>"We gotta get to shelter for the night, Doc." Jack stated to the man he was half carrying, half dragging, through the undergrowth. Unfortunately there weren't any large rocks to sleep under this time anywhere near him, but there were a few smaller ones up ahead. The undergrowth of large leaves seemed acceptable. That ten or twenty metres of walking seemed to take fifteen minutes, but eventually Jack was able to lay the Doctor down under a collection of large fern leaves. He sat himself next to the semi-conscious Doctor, leaning up against a rock. He would need to make a fire soon, before it got too dark. Reluctantly, Jack stood and scrounged the forest floor for small twigs and progressively larger sticks. He made a circle of smaller rocks close to where the Doctor lay, and placed the kindling inside it. Before long, a small fire was going and darkness had settled.<p>

Jack manoeuvred himself behind the Doctor, so to keep his back warm while he faced the fire. Jack was so tired, after walking all day supporting the Doctor. Without thinking, he wrapped his arm around the Doctor and moved the other one to be beneath the Doctor's head. He grabbed his hand, and drifted to sleep. Jack was awoken by the soft pitter-patter of rain upon the leaves above him, and the cool water dripping onto his face. As he looked up, the rain got heavier – enough to soak the ground and unfortunately, them too. The leaves didn't provide protection from the water, and the fire had been extinguished. So it was cold, very cold. Jack's breath froze in the damp air as he held on to the Doctor. He noticed how cold the Doctor felt, and while he knew that he could endure much colder temperatures than Jack or ordinary humans, Jack still felt like this was too cold for him while injured. But he was at a loss as to what to do – he couldn't keep walking, he had no idea which way the Tardis was. But they couldn't stay there; the Doctor would catch his death.

As if answering his thoughts, he heard the distant whine of the Tardis. She was calling out to him, as much as she could. Jack sat up, causing more water to pour over his head. He tried to listen again, hoping that he hadn't imagined it. Sure enough, he heard the gentle hum of the Tardis followed by her iconic roar. Looking out into the rain, he could see a faint light in the distance – a beacon of hope. It was the Tardis.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack quickly picked up the Doctor, and carrying him in his arms he walked as quickly as he could towards the light. Luckily, the brighter of the two moons shone down through the treetops and lit up the forest floor just enough for Jack to avoid obstacles. The ground was muddy, and Jack found it hard to not slip over. Slowly, the light grew stronger and the whine became louder. Jack was panting, and the Doctor was shivering, as they approached the beloved blue box. She was ecstatic to see them, and very worried about her Doctor. And, perhaps for the only time, she opened the door for Jack without a need for him to search his or the Doctor's coats for a key. Jack stumbled inside thankfully, and quickly crossed the control room towards the hall. The first door he came across was the medical bay; the Tardis had put it there for him with all that he would need inside. The door opened and Jack manoeuvred them both inside. Jack laid the Doctor upon the floor of the warm room before placing him upon the bed that sat in the middle. He needed to remove the Doctor's sopping wet clothes before he could get warm. Glad he was unconscious for this bit; Jack whipped off his trenchcoat and threw it aside. He decided the Doctor didn't need the blood-soaked shirt he was wearing anymore, and so tore it open without the need to undo the fiddly buttons. A cupboard opened on the wall next to him, revealing a pile of warm towels and blankets.

"Thanks." He spoke to the room as he reached and grabbed three of each. There was a gentle hum as an answer. Jack rubbed the towels over the Doctor's top half, drying him. He wrapped a blanket around his torso, trying hard to not cause further damage to the broken (yet appearing better) arm. Jack then moved towards the lower end, and stopped. He felt as if he would be violating the Doctor, for want of a better word. If he had been just a friend to Jack, then he wouldn't have had a problem. But Jack didn't want the first time he undressed the Doctor to be when the Doctor was out cold. These thoughts ceased, however, when Jack realised that he probably couldn't take off the Doctor's wet pants anyway – since the binds he had made to hold the large gash in his leg together was over the top of the pants. And he didn't want to open the wound if it had closed. So Jack contented to just patting down the dripping pants, rubbing vigorously on the uninjured leg. He took off the shoes and socks that the Doctor was wearing, and removed his belt. Jack undid the button of the Doctor's pants, just so that the clothing was loose. When Jack had dried the Doctor off as much as he could, he lifted him up onto the bed. He went to place the blanket over him, but was met with a sharp noise made by the Tardis. Understanding, Jack dropped the blanket on the floor. The Tardis hummed.

Suddenly the bed that the Doctor lay upon moved towards the wall. A door opened in the wall and the next thing Jack knew, the Doctor was engulfed by the Tardis. Then it occurred to Jack that it was one of the highly advanced Timelord medical machines that the Tardis had taken the Doctor into.

Jack felt exhausted. After all he had done the past couple of days, and having the burden of getting to the Tardis in time to help the Doctor lifted from him, Jack just wanted to rest. The Tardis hummed quietly to him, and opened the cupboard that Jack had shut. Almost reluctantly, Jack walked over to it. He found more towels and blankets, and a folded pair of his pyjamas. He smiled, and patted the cupboard wall. The Tardis made a noise that Jack could have sworn was a purr of happiness. He took out a couple of towels and a blanket, and proceeded to strip himself of his drenched clothing. He put on the pyjamas the Tardis had given him after drying himself, and looked towards the wall that had swallowed the Doctor. He noticed a comfy looking armchair sitting in the room, against the right wall facing inwards. He wasn't sure how he had missed it, but gladly walked over to it. He happily sunk into the chair and reclined it so it was almost horizontal, and pulled the blanket over himself. Before he knew it, he was drifting off to a very peaceful sleep.

Jack was awoken by the sounds of machinery moving, and so he opened his eyes and gazed out into the room. The Doctor was being taken out of the wall, and back to where the bed had originally stood. Jacks stood up and quickly moved over to see how he was. He was dry, and warmer, and his physical injuries seem to have healed. His arm was no longer broken, and the multitude of scratches upon his chest had gone. Jack assumed that his leg had been healed too, but couldn't tell beneath the cloth. But as he looked, the Doctor still seemed to be battling something, that infection that Jack had assumed he got. Looking up at the roof, Jack called out to the Tardis.

"What do I do now?"  
>Jack heard a rumble; the Tardis was trying to tell him something. But he couldn't understand, since the Tardis only communicated telepathically and he wasn't telepathic. Still, he tried to open his mind. He could feel something pressing against it, someone trying to get a message across. The Tardis tried hard to communicate, and managed to convey a single word to Jack: <em>"Shelf"<em>.  
>"Shelf?" Jack asked upon the realisation of this word. The Tardis hummed to him in a happy tone, meaning he had understood right.<br>"But what does that mean?" Jack asked, but he understood once he saw a shelf on the wall across from him. He walked over to it, and saw it was laden with various medications. He picked up some bottles, trying to read them.  
>"It's all in Gallifreyan! I can't read it." He spoke to the Tardis, but there was no response. The Tardis never translated Gallifreyan. Jack had hoped that she would make an exception in this case. Jack closed his eyes, and then opened them to look at the bottles again. He was astonished to see that the language on the bottles was now in English. He smiled, reaching out to read another one. His smile dropped. The Gallifreyan had translated into the chemical names for the medications, which meant about as much to Jack as the Gallifreyan did.<p>

"Why can't you label things with what they are FOR, instead of what they ARE?" Jack asked the Tardis angrily, and was met with a sharp grinding sound. Of course it was not her fault. Jack put the bottles back. He reached out to grab another, on a whim, and was met by the sharp grinding sound again. In his head, he managed to understand another word…_"No."_

Jack retracted his hand. He reached out for another, and was met by the same word. Trusting that the Tardis knew what she was doing, Jack moved his hand slowly along the shelf until he was in front of a small glass bottle. The Tardis quickly shouted a happy hum, and an equivalent of _"Yes"_ in his mind as he grasped the medication. He peered inside, and saw that it was a liquid. He looked around, and saw a small contraption on the desk with a slot that matched the size of the bottle. He grabbed it, and the Tardis hummed again. Jack slid the bottle into the small compartment, and it snapped shut. He held it in his hand, and walked over to the Doctor. He had no idea what he was doing, or what the contraption did to administer the medicine, or what the chemical would even do. So he stood over the Doctor and held out his arm with the silver metal device, hovering it over areas of the limp man's body until the Tardis hummed happily – over his neck. Jack still wasn't sure how use it, so he carefully pressed the end into the skin – the end was flat, so not like a needle – hoping something would happen, and it would be right. Upon touching the skin, the device clicked. Jack held it there for a few seconds longer, until the Tardis hummed to tell him he had finished.

Jack went to the cupboard and took out a towel, just in case he was wrong. He then walked over to the Doctor and tentatively began to undo the binds that he had made with his shirt. He lifted the padding cautiously, and was relieved to see that the gaping wound was healed. The Tardis opened the door to the hallway outside, and Jack could see across into the room on the other side – the Doctor's bedroom. Jack understood the message, and lifted the Doctor across the hall and laid him on his bed. The Doctor's pyjamas were also neatly pressed and folded on the covers, compliments of the Tardis. Jack realised that he was nervous, for the same reasons as before, when it came to undressing the Doctor. Jack slipped the Doctor's shirt on first, and buttoned it up at the front. Jack took a deep breath, and then slid the tattered suit pants to the ground. He had noticed that the Tardis had put out clean underwear for the Doctor, so she expected him to change everything.  
>"I'm sorry." Jack whispered to his companion, taking the underwear off. Jack tried his hardest to not look all the while having to see where he was putting the clean pair. Once he had managed to dress the Doctor completely, he pulled back the covers and tucked the Timelord into the large bed. It was strange, but Jack didn't want to leave him. Not after what they had been through so recently; Jack wanted to keep an eye on him during the rest of the night, just to make sure he was ok. So Jack moved the covers over again, and slipped in to the bed beside the Doctor. Looking at his peaceful face, Jack smiled and began to gently stroke his hair with the arm that was closest to him. The Doctor stirred, eyes opening just enough to see Jack's face.<p>

"Shh…it's ok Doc. Really, you're ok. You can sleep now." Jack whispered as he softly took the Doctor's hand, expecting him to pull away. But surprisingly, he gripped onto the hand tighter as he smiled, and turned away to face the other direction…not letting go of Jack's hand. Jack didn't know what to do with himself for a moment, his arm was wrapped around the Doctor's waist and his other arm had –somehow– ended up beneath the Doctor's pillow. But after hearing the Doctor's steady breathing, he relaxed and allowed himself to doze off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Lazily, Jack opened his eyes. He was surprised to find that the Doctor was cuddled up against him closer than when they went to sleep, causing his nose to be touching the back of the Doctor's neck. It was warm and comfy, and something he had dreamed about often, but he still felt slightly awkward because he knew that the Doctor didn't think of it in the same way. Jack wanted so much to be able to snuggle up with that man in bed or while watching a movie, to hold hands, to speak openly. He had been attracted to the Doctor almost since they met, and his feelings for him had only grown over the time he knew him. But Jack was surprised at how his want extended deeper than just physical attraction and lust; that happened very rarely. He wanted to just _be_ with that wonderful man, as closely as he could. He wanted to just listen to whatever he had to say, just so that he could hear his voice. He wanted to be in his company all the time so he didn't have to go a minute without him, go without seeing him. And Jack wanted, wished, desperately that the Doctor would return his affections. But the realisation that he wouldn't, doesn't, hurt Jack deeply – even though Jack wasn't sure if the Doctor knew just how much he cared for him. Still, Jack was happy to be as close as he could, regardless of how far away it was from what he wanted.

Jack could feel the Doctor's hearts beat beneath the hand that was pressed against the Timelord's chest. It was comforting. Jack wasn't aware that the Doctor was in fact awake, but just lying there as if he was sleeping. Just so he could think to himself for a moment and stay where he was without an awkward situation arising. What was going on? He was feeling things he was unsure about, and was unable to deny them. Before the building collapsed, Jack was just Jack – his good friend. Anything else was sealed away, despite him knowing that that 'anything else' existed. But because he'd just suppressed all those feelings straight away, he never really knew what they were. Definitely the unease of Jack's immortality was there, but there were other things too. And it had just been all locked away. But now, inexplicably, some of those feelings had escaped. And he didn't seem to mind about Jack being 'wrong' in the universe anymore; now to him Jack was 'right'. As much as it unnerved him, the Doctor quite liked these feelings. They were…nice. He wanted to be in Jack's company as much as he could, be as close as he could. Suddenly physical boundaries he placed between them had shrunk to almost non-existent in his eyes, thus his holding of Jack's hand as he was pressed up against the man's warm muscular body. He didn't think that this new want extended to any naked contact, but he definitely felt a lot closer than before. Maybe it was just a deeper friendship established after a life-and-death situation? It was, indeed, only after did the Doctor depend on Jack for those couple of days with his life. But despite trying to convince himself of this, he could still recall the feelings that surged through him when he thought Jack had abandoned him. It was different to when other friends had abandoned him, but similar to how he felt when he lost Rose. And when he saw Jack return, he was positively overjoyed, as if he was the only thing that he wanted to see or be with for the rest of his life. Sure, that faded away almost as quickly, but remnants remain of it.

The Doctor froze his thought pattern and returned to focusing on pretending to be still asleep as he heard and felt Jack stir from behind him. After a few moments of stillness from Jack, the Doctor relaxed again. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous for Jack to find him awake and still grasping his hand, snuggled together. But he was. It would lead to a conversation about why he didn't object. And that would lead to his current feelings, of which he was still trying to label and understand himself. Could it be possible, that these desires to be closer to Jack, these feelings of connectedness and happiness when Jack was around, be romantic? He had felt love before, several times in fact and in several different forms. But never really with a man….did that even matter? No, no this must be different. Maybe in a few days things would return to normal? When Jack was just a friend and dear companion but not on his thoughts every moment, not the only thing he wants to be around. The Doctor concluded to himself that his feelings were wrong; that he didn't have that kind of interest in Jack. Why then, did it seem to hurt to think that Jack wouldn't return his feelings right now? Or at any stage? It had been obvious that Jack had been attracted to him, but that had been nothing more than an 'in-the-moment' lust. Nothing lasting or meaningful…was it? The Doctor wondered why he was thinking that. If he was dismissing those thoughts and feelings, then why did it matter what Jack thought and felt? He tried to ignore it. Time, he thought. Give it some time, and it will all return to how it was, particularly if he tried hard to make the normality resume. So, why then, could he not bring himself to move out of Jack's embrace and let go of his hand?

Jack needed to get up. He wasn't sure, however, how to do that. He wanted to let the Doctor sleep – he had been though a lot the past couple of days – but if he moved, he was sure to wake him. Slowly, Jack started to wriggle backwards, and tried to softly pull his arm out from beneath the pillow. He succeeded to an extent, only to realise that he had to free his left hand before being able to move backwards any further. He held his breath, and pulled his hand out in a quick but smooth fluid movement. Receiving no response from the Doctor, Jack proceeded to slide backwards until the rest of the pillow-buried arm was free. The Doctor quietly commended his efforts, appreciative to the effort he was going to for his benefit. Just as Jack was at the side of the mattress, and his arm was released, the Doctor broke his silence.

"Jack." He stated softly, more of a statement saying that he was awake and aware of the movements rather than an inquisition. Jack was startled, thinking he was successfully removing himself without being noticed, causing him to fall backwards off the bed.

"Jack?" The Doctor asked louder, turning around to face him. Jack sat up immediately, slightly embarrassed.

"Hey Doc, how are you feeling today?" Jack asked with a smile.  
>"Yeah, much much better. Thank you, not just for asking but for everything. Looking after me, carrying me here. It… it means a lot to me that you would care that much."<p>

Jack stuttered to himself for a moment, looking nervous. The Doctor acknowledging his care made his heart jump, and he needed a moment to compose himself properly.

"No, no it's fine. I would do anything for you Doctor." Jack responded, hoping that the Doctor would understand his ulterior meaning. Jack never got a verbal response, as the Doctor just nodded slightly and smiled at him. After a moment of silence, Jack stood and walked towards the door.

"Breakfast time for me." He stated once he reached the doorframe. He hadn't really eaten much since breakfast the morning of the collapse, since he only ate a couple of those fruit things yesterday morning and nothing since – he had been too concerned about the Doctor to even think of his own needs.

"Did you want anything? Banana? Cereal? Toast?"  
>"Toast with marmalade?"<br>"Yeah if you want…"  
>"Nah not really hungry."<br>Jack chuckled at the Doctor's attempt at humour, but gave him a serious face.

"You need to eat. You're too skinny as it is."  
>"But I'm not hungry. And why is it that whenever someone refuses to eat something, their weight makes it either ok or not? I don't understand why humans say that a skinny person has to eat when they don't want to, but practically encourage an overweight person to not eat… when the action is the same, and they are both human, bodies requiring the same intake…sorry. Babbling. And… don't you like how I look, if you think I am too skinny?"<br>Jack was again taken aback by this question. It caused him to breathe hard before responding, without making eye contact.

"No that's not what I meant. I mean, I think you are… very handsome. Yeah, not too skinny. I like it."

The Doctor enjoyed hearing him say that, he had really only asked it to hear the response Jack gave – if it was dismissive, like he didn't think about those things at all, or if it was an honest response, telling either that he really didn't like him or awkwardly did. Or even a response showing that he was just a friend, a playful joke or similar. Jack's answer made him smile again. Jack, however, was feeling the awkward meter rise higher as time moved on. So, he decided that he would let the breakfast issue drop and ensure that his friend ate lunch. Jack walked out of the door and towards the kitchen. The Doctor stayed where he was for a little while. He felt a little tired, but found no point in remaining in bed. Not when Jack wasn't there. He stood, realising the pain in his muscles. He winced, but walked over to the cupboard and took out his navy, fluffy, dressing gown. He slipped it on as he walked out of the room and followed Jack to the kitchen.

Jack was sitting at the table, looking into his bowl of cereal. He would lift the spoon to his mouth every now and again, but his mind was deep in thought. The Doctor walked to the bench and poured himself some tea before seating himself opposite Jack. Flicking his eyes upwards, Jack became aware of the man sitting across from him sipping tea.

"Hi." He stated, mouth still full of cereal.

"Hello. You know, I'm still rather tired. I hope you don't mind, but I was thinking of spending the day inside the Tardis. Just watching some movies or something, you know, to have a peaceful day. Besides I doubt the Tardis would let us out today anyway, she is a little paranoid of me getting injured."

"Yeah that's fine with me. Sounds better than going out again to be honest."

They sat there in silence for a few more minutes before finishing their respective breakfasts and clearing up after themselves.


	7. Chapter 7

The Doctor had selected a movie, and the pair of them were sitting together on a comfortable couch, wrapped in a blanket. The room was fairly dark, and they were both engrossed in the film. Jack had been cold, since the Tardis was setting the environment to a comfortable temperature for the Doctor, and so had gotten the blanket to put over both of them. He had moved closer to the other man for warmth, despite his body being naturally cooler than a human's. But now, somehow during the course of the film, Jack had ended up lying on the Doctor, both of them facing the television. The Doctor's arm was wrapped around his left shoulder, his right leaning on the arm of the couch in front of the Timelord. Jack suddenly became aware of the Doctor absent-mindedly stroking his arm with the hand that rested upon his shoulder. He tried to control his breathing, so that the Doctor wouldn't notice…they were pressed up against each other, and a change in that rhythm would be noticeable. He enjoyed it; the Doctor's soft touch managing to make him shiver every now and again.

The Doctor shifted to get comfortable again, this time aligning himself right behind Jack, his chest pressed against Jack's muscular shoulders. He let his arm dangle down Jack's front, and jumped slightly when he felt Jack hold his hand. His palm was gentle and warm, inviting, until Jack let go and moved further away. The Doctor's heart sank; Jack didn't want to be close. He felt utterly disappointed, and slightly embarrassed with trying to extend the contact between them. Jack had just reached to the floor and picked up a pillow upon which to rest his head, and placed it up against the arm of the couch. The Doctor grasped the blanket as Jack wriggled, ending up facing him with his head on the pillow. He looked down into the short black hair from where his head rested on his arm, elbow perched upon the couch arm. Jack had closed his eyes to rest for a moment.

The Doctor wanted to just … move his hand down the side of Jack's face, feel his warm skin beneath his fingers. He wasn't sure why, but he had stopped questioning himself at least in regards to the validity of his feelings. He quietly moved his head closer to Jack's, not only wanting to alleviate the pressure his head placed upon his wrist, but to just decrease the distance between them. While Jack wasn't watching, as to avoid any inquisitions that could devolve into awkward. Without thinking, the Doctor lifted his other hand (the one he wasn't leaning on) and ran the back of his fingers along Jack's cheek. Jack snapped his eyes open at this, and looked into the Doctor's. The brown eyes seemed shocked, but were also waiting. Waiting to see what he would do in response. There was a slight pause, as Jack's brain buzzed all the while being overwhelmed by emotions and the Doctor looked into the crystal depths of his eyes, before Jack moved quickly upwards and softly kissed the Doctor on the lips. He returned to where he was before, only a few inches away, within an instant. His head was swimming, trying to make sense of his emotions, knowing that he couldn't just act how he felt – because it was the Doctor. His heart was pounding as he remained motionless, looking into the couch cushioning in front of him, for what felt like minutes. The Doctor abandoned rational thought, and gave in to his feelings, wants, and desires. He bent forward and returned Jack's kiss, tenderly pressing his lips upon Jack's.

Jack relaxed, unaware of how tense he was. The Doctor didn't yell or run or make a scene like he had feared, but actually wanted him as well. Jack slid his hand behind the Doctor, so he could move closer and press against his lips. He had wanted this for so long that he almost found it hard to believe it was real. The Doctor released from the kiss, but kept his forehead pressed against Jack's, looking into his blue eyes. Jack had so many questions, but decided against asking any. He knew this was a sensitive moment for the Doctor, and didn't want to scare him away from intimacy. So he waited. He almost expected the Doctor to suddenly straighten and begin regretting what had just transpired. But he didn't… just remained where he was, head pressed against Jack's. The seconds passed away, and Jack's curiosity got the better of him.  
>"Doctor?" He asked, leaving a pause to see if it would be filled for him. Mainly because he was afraid of asking the next question, but he had to know.<br>"Is this what you want?"

As Jack feared, the Doctor moved backwards, to rest upon the back of the couch. He didn't take his eyes off Jack, however. Jack's expression was mixed with happiness, fear, and sorrow as he stared into the Doctor's contemplative eyes.

"Yes. This isn't just some 'in the heat of the moment' thing, Jack, I have wanted to for a while."  
>"How long?"<br>The Doctor had hoped he didn't get asked that question. Didn't Jack want him? Or only if he had waited for a long time just like Jack had. But he had to answer honestly.

"Well… only let myself feel these things after the building collapsed. But before then, there was something there…I just, hid it away deep inside. I guess I was afraid of it. But it wasn't until I came to depend on you so much did it burst out of that little box and take me over completely… and now I don't want it to go. I am still so, so nervous…but I know that I don't want to ignore it any longer, Jack. I know I want you, and I don't care what that means for everything else in my life. With all the others… I lost them. I didn't want to let myself feel anything like that again, because the pain of losing them was too great. But this is different… not because you can't die, but … I'm not really sure why. But it feels it. And I don't want to run from it."

Jack smiled, he knew that the Doctor must be telling the truth, because what he was saying would be awkward for him, and an awkward Doctor is one that babbles. And he was babbling, even though Jack was glad to hear it all. Jack ran his fingers through the Timelord's hair and down his cheek, resting on his lips.

"It's ok, Doctor. I just didn't want to take advantage of you in any way, if you were just reacting to my company after almost dying."

Jack withdrew his hand, allowing the Doctor to respond.  
>"No. That only helped me realise what was there, and built upon it."<br>"I was so afraid that you wouldn't return my affections, Doctor. I spent so long telling myself to forget it, to move on, but I couldn't. The more I tried to stay just friends, the more I wanted to be closer. But I couldn't let you know, because I thought you wouldn't ever feel the same."  
>"I do, Jack."<p>

Their conversation was over, not wanting to become too lengthy when there was so much going on that remained unsaid. So Jack snuggled up into the Doctor, drawing the blanket up higher and pushing the pillow backwards to support their sides as they leaned on the couch arm. The Doctor put his arms around Jack, who placed his hands on top, and rested his head against Jack's short black hair. The pair continued to watch the end of the movie, feeling entirely differently than mere minutes ago. Any awkwardness had disappeared, and both just enjoyed each other's close company.


	8. Chapter 8

"Come on, grab your coat." Jack said to the Doctor, while landing the Tardis. He complied, slipping on his trench coat from on one of the pillars and walking closer to the man who had just recently learnt to pilot his dear Tardis.

"Where are we going? I didn't really want to do much today, not really feeling up to adventure right now."  
>"Don't worry, Doc, there'll be no running – or even standing for that matter – this time. I'm taking you to dinner. I know this great little place that I used to go to a lot back on Earth, I think you'll love it."<p>

Jack smiled, and the Doctor returned it, however slightly uneasily. He tried to hide it, but failed. He couldn't help being nervous, he had rarely went out to dinner with anyone before and it was with Jack – so not just your average meal. Jack tried to look reassuring, as he knew that the Doctor would have some concerns or anxieties when it came to things like this. But those should fade with time as he gained more confidence, Jack told himself. Just once he was used to the idea. It was no secret that the Doctor wasn't very good at expressing intimacy or his feelings, but Jack didn't mind. That was him – and he loved him for it as well as everything else.

Walking out of the Tardis doors, the Doctor found himself in a small alleyway, with stone laid as pavers at the bottom of a long red brick wall. He followed Jack, who had begun to stroll out into the main street, glowing with the yellow light of street lamps. He smiled and looked at his companion walking into the light, and opened his arms towards him while directing him which way the restaurant was. It was large but quaint, the interior made mostly of carved wood – maybe mahogany or oak – with a staircase leading to a second dining level. There were lights glowing from the ceiling, but each of the round wooden tables had a candle lit upon them, increasing the romantic atmosphere of the place.  
>"Where are we, Jack?"<br>"Um, somewhere in London. Not sure exactly what time period, since I can't really pilot the Tardis well. But we should be around the 1920s; I aimed for 1925 as to give some room for error."  
>"Wait, doesn't that mean that we can't be seen like this together?"<br>"They don't have to know, and what does it matter if they did? I mean, I don't care about them – they don't know me or I them, and I'm not going to see them again. It's just you I care about."  
>"I suppose you're right about that. Yeah, ok, let's go. And perhaps ask for a more secluded table. Just so we can talk properly."<br>"Ha ha, ok Doc. Good idea. Though I doubt many people would be listening, they'd all be involved in their own conversations."

A waiter approached them from around the corner.

"Hello Sirs, what can I do for you this evening?"  
>"Table for two, please." Jack stated directly, the waiter nodding, taking two menus and walking away indicating for them to follow. Approaching a small table in the centre of the room, Jack turned quietly to the waiter and asked if they had anything more towards a corner and out of the way. Looking slightly confused, but complying, the man dressed in a fancy suit ushered them to a small table in the corner closest to the back of the staircase. It was considerably darker than the first, but sat near a window with a candle burning bright in the centre of the wood. Thanking the waiter, they sat down and took their menus.<p>

"I will return shortly to take your order." He spoke, before turning and leaving them. The restaurant was busy but not overly crowded, so there weren't people sitting directly next to them which the Doctor appreciated greatly.

"So." Jack stated, smiling at the Doctor across the table.

"So?"

"Enjoying yourself so far?"  
>"Yeah, actually. I thought it would be weird but…it's not. You're right… I don't care about what these other people think. And they haven't really noticed. So…I'm glad we came."<p>

Jack didn't want to add anything, so just smiled back at the man he had wanted for so long. He was happier than he had felt in as long as he could remember, having him sitting across the table looking down into his menu, spikey brown hair dangling downwards. Jack looked at his own menu, but occasionally flicked his eyes up towards the Doctor to find him doing the same thing. After some time the waiter returned, and stood above them with a pen and paper. He looked at them, smiling up at him, and gave them an inquisitive look.

"Sorry Sirs, are you cold here? I could move you if you like, I do believe we have another table available."

The Doctor was confused for a moment, then realised that they were sitting at the table with their coats still on, having been focusing on other things.

"No, no we're fine. Just… getting settled." He said as he stood and placed his brown trenchcoat over behind his chair, before sitting down again in his brown pinstriped suit. Jack imitated, draping his military coat behind himself.

"So may I take your order now, or would you like some more time?"  
>"Doctor, are you ready?"<br>"Yes thanks. Shall I start?"

Jack happily nodded, and the Doctor began addressing the waiter with his order. He ordered the pasta dish, a saucy bolognaise with penne. Jack then proceeded, ordering a steak with Dianne sauce and vegetables.  
>"Any wine this evening?"<br>"Yes, a bottle please."  
>"Certainly sir, which in particular?"<br>"I'm not sure, surprise me."  
>Once Jack finished ordering, the waiter bowed slightly and walked to the kitchen. He returned moments later with two wine glasses and a bottle. Placing them on the table, the waiter then left.<p>

Jack pulled at his breeches slightly, letting them snap back against his chest, before reaching out and opening the wine bottle. Pouring the sparkling yellow liquid into both glasses, he smiled at the Doctor.  
>"Here's to us." Jack stated, and the Doctor blushed. But he took the glass he was offered and sipped the wine.<br>"It's strange; it seems like I have felt this way for so long, when I think about it. But it appears that it only took a building falling on top of us for me to realise it. And now… I can't think of it being any other way. I know I'm not good at expressing a lot of things. But this… I want to."  
>"Doctor…I spent so much time being afraid of what you would think if I was honest with you. I knew you just wanted to be friends…but it killed me. I can barely register that this is real. Just know that I only want you to be happy. You've been through so much, and I hope to one day hear all about your life – the parts that I don't know, and the ones that I do –but only if you're ready to tell me. I just want to be with you as much as I can."<p>

Jack reached out and placed his hand upon the Doctor's that rested on the table. Even his fingers were muscly, the Doctor thought to himself as he threaded his own fingers through them.


	9. Chapter 9

Jack had paid for dinner, and they were walking out into the street. It was dark, and cold enough for their breath to freeze in the air, and thankfully there weren't any people around close by. The Doctor walked closer to Jack, grabbing his hand and resting his head upon the soft material of his padded shoulder. They continued walking, laughing, pressed together. They reached where the Tardis was parked, and the Doctor opened the door. He began to walk in, but was stopped by the gentle tug on his arm that was still holding his companion's hand. He turned around to the man standing facing him.

"Thanks for a wonderful evening."  
>"No, thank you. Not just for the evening. But for being the only one to pull me out of my shell enough to experience these things…and not care about the possibility of getting hurt."<p>

Jack smiled, and leant forwards, all the while pulling softly on the Doctor's hand so he would move towards him. Jack planted a kiss on the Doctor's lips, and tilted backwards. He was surprised however at how the kiss wasn't broken by this, and instead had caused the skinny man to press harder into his body.

Jack pressed his tongue on the Doctor's lips, and kept his own slightly parted. The Doctor responded by placing his tongue on Jack's lips in turn. They moved into the Tardis, wanting somewhere a little more secluded. Closing the door, Jack found himself pressed against the door. He was surprised at the Doctor's actions, being so forward, but he didn't dwell too much on it. He wanted this more than anything, and didn't want to ruin it by over thinking it. He also allowed the Doctor to have as much dominance as he wanted; actually being more excited being in the submissive role for once. The Doctor was thinking the same, about being forward, but all thoughts were but background noise now. He had wanted to be this close to Jack for a long time, and all he could process was his desire for that man that filled his heart. There was a jolt of electricity shared between them as their tongues met for the first time, Jack allowing the Doctor entrance to explore. The Timelord had his hands on Jack's face, and in his hair, while they passionately kissed. Jack moved his hands from the Doctor's hips up to his back, pulling him closer. Jack revelled in the feeling of the tongue dancing about his mouth, and tried to regain some control by moving his tongue outwards to the other's mouth.

The men moved about, arms changing positions frequently, as they continued their deep kiss for several minutes. They didn't notice the time, they were just absorbed by each other. When the kiss was broken, they lent their heads against one another's forehead, slightly panting. The Doctor moved his hands so they cupped Jack's face, and smiled into his eyes. Jack looked into the amber depths, and saw a fire blazing behind them. It surprised him; he hadn't seen anything like this in the Doctor before. But then again, he hadn't snogged the Doctor like that before. Jack just stood there, gazing, as he held onto the Timelord's body firmly. He didn't want to have to let go, but he would have to once the Doctor made a move to leave. The Doctor didn't want to either; all he could think about was Jack and getting closer to him. That was all he wanted, a rare moment when all of the universe could wait. He moved his hands to Jack's chest, and slid them under his coat to rub over his shoulders. Jack shivered under the touch, and wanted desperately to move his hands over the Doctor's buttocks – but knew it could cause him to jump away, ceasing intimacy. Jack hadn't ever been nervous or afraid like he was now, never before had he questioned his actions while being intimate with another. He looked at the Doctor making a small gesture with his eyebrows, and a slight tilt of his head. Guessing at what he meant, Jack smiled – however much more suggestively than previously.

The Tardis hummed, and the lights dimmed down to barely alight.  
>"I think the Tardis says it's night time now. No more being in her control room." The Doctor whispered in their embrace. Jack was slightly disappointed at having to let him go, but walked closely behind him as they crossed the dark control room, only illuminated by the blue of the central spire, and into the hallway. The first room the Doctor came across was his bedroom, however any other rooms in the hallway were located a fair distance away. The Doctor opened the door, and Jack saw inside. It was different than the last few times he'd seen it; the Tardis liked to change her Doctor's room as she saw fit to suit his needs. This time his bed was large and in the middle, with a warm light glowing from the table next to the bed. They stood there, at the doorway, almost waiting for the other to say something.<br>"Well, Goodnight Jack."  
>Before Jack could say anything, the Doctor moved closer inwards and delivered another kiss. Jack returned it gladly, holding the back of his head and spreading his fingers through the brown spiked hair. It was like everything was exploding within the Doctor. For so long, he'd kept everything at a distance – not let anything through the prison in his mind, not allowing himself to feel emotional attachment. But now, he was overwhelmed by the feelings that had lain dormant for so long. And he didn't want them to go. All he wanted … was Jack. Nothing else mattered. And Jack wanted him. The Doctor moaned slightly into the kiss after reflecting on his feelings, causing Jack to kiss him deeper. They moved backwards into the room, unconsciously almost, while they continued to share the kiss that summarised their feelings.<p>

Again the Doctor ran his hands gently over the captain's chest, feeling the muscles twitch under his touch. He slid them up onto his shoulders again, and down behind his back – causing the overcoat to fall to the ground, and Jack to be pressed against the Doctor. Wrapping his arms around the skinny man, he pulled at the brown trenchcoat until it, too, fell to the floor. They both felt more free, without the bulky clothes; closer to each other, which was all they wanted. The excitement of shedding the Doctor's coat had faded, so Jack began to loosen his tie. Meanwhile, the Doctor had pulled Jack's breeches off his shoulders, revelling in the joy he felt while continuing to undress that man. It was like stepping closer and closer to being one, the pinnacle of happiness and wellbeing that only came with ultimate togetherness. And they wanted that desperately.

They broke their kiss to look into each other's eyes, and to focus on fiddly things such as buttons. Jack tenderly stroked the Doctor's soft skin, absorbing all he could of their intimacy with that touch. They moved to the bed and lay on the soft pillows, Jack resting his head on the Doctor's chest. He could hear the heartbeat of the Timelord, the four resounding thuds that made his own heart pound faster. He wanted to just hug that chest, as tightly as he could. He resisted the temptation, however, as he assumed he might break his beloved Doctor by doing so. They barely spoke, for what would have been said was mutually understood. The Doctor's room was normally cooler than Jack would have liked, so he found himself rather cold in the absence of his clothes. He moved under the bedding to keep warm, and the Doctor followed, unable to do anything to keep himself separate from Jack. They laid there in each other's warm embrace, softly kissing. Jack lovingly ran his hand up the Doctor's spine, causing a gentle shudder that he could feel throughout his own body, since it was pressed firmly against the Timelord's. They moved together, feeling complete in each other's arms, their desire building more intense as they shared this intimate moment. Jack clung tightly, unable to recall a time he felt happier – as did the Doctor. It wasn't long before they reached that moment when there was nothing but pleasure, happiness and love for each other. It seemed like it would last forever, but they could feel it dwindling away slowly. The Doctor snuggled his head onto Jack's neck and chest, still pressed against him, and closed his eyes. Jack rested his cheek on the Doctor's head, and drifted off to a doze…still holding his Doctor in his arms.


	10. Chapter 10

Jack woke lazily, realising that his arms were still wrapped tight around a warm skinny body. He nudged the man's spine with his nose gently, breathing in the scent and exhaling his warm breath upon the bare skin. He couldn't recall a time being this happy, still. He couldn't help but smile as he lay there, with the Doctor sleeping soundly pressed up against him. Jack softly stroked him with his fingers, thinking to himself…he is _beautiful._ The steady rhythm of the Doctor's breathing and twin hearts beating resounded through Jack as if it were the music of his soul. He wanted to lie there forever, but knew that his love couldn't stay in one place too long.

Jack tried to push intrusive thoughts away from his mind as the Doctor stirred and slowly awoke. He didn't want to listen to that pessimistic voice that said that the Doctor was only interested in a one-night stand with him and didn't want to have a relationship. The thought terrified him that it might be true, despite hoping –almost knowing – that it wasn't. The tight tension these thoughts caused in his stomach was alleviated when the Doctor rolled over and looked into his eyes, smiling, and then kissing him deeply.  
>"Morning Captain." The Doctor said, causing a shiver to run down Jack's spine at the mention of his rank of which he was known by. Jack returned a quick peck on the lips before answering.<br>"Morning Doctor. How are you feeling?"  
>The Doctor exhaled and smiled as he snuggled closer to Jack.<br>"Amazing."  
>"So you're not still hurt anywhere? Do you feel like doing anything today?"<p>

"What sorts of things to you have in mind, Captain Harkness?"  
>Jack was surprised at the Doctor's tone, an innuendo that he himself would normally have done.<br>"I was meaning more, if you wanted to go exploring somewhere today?"

"Yeah, as long as I'm with you."  
>This last statement made Jack's heart skip a beat, and to respond with his feelings of mutuality, he gave another kiss.<p>

They noticed that the lights were brighter than a few moments ago, and the Tardis had started an eager and constant hum throughout the room.  
>"I think she's excited to be going somewhere again. I suppose it has been a while since we moved."<br>The Doctor stopped what he was doing, halfway through putting pants on, and looked at Jack.  
>"Since when have you been able to understand the Tardis?"<br>"Oh, well when you were in bad shape she helped me out a lot. She called out into the forest through the rain and darkness so I could find her and help you, and showed me where to put you."  
>"She's a good girl, I love her." The Doctor stroked the wall after fastening his belt, and then continued. "And I'm surprised that you were able to understand her – most humans can't even tell she's alive let alone have some form of understanding communication."<br>"I guess it was the situation that made it happen. We were both desperate to help you and communicate with each other to do that. I mean I could always understand that she was alive and communicated with you telepathically, but it wasn't until then that I could hear her talk to me in my mind."  
>"Really? You could actually understand words? That's incredible Jack. What did she say?"<br>"Her first word to me?"  
>"Yeah."<br>"Well… 'shelf'."  
>The Doctor looked both amazed and like he was about to burst out laughing. It was an odd word, for such a momentous occasion, without knowing the background. He finished buttoning up his shirt and grabbed his jacket, slipping it on as Jack completed his dressing as well.<br>"So… just… 'shelf'?"  
>"Well I had you in the bed and stood there asking what to do next, and she told me to go to the shelf to get medications for you."<br>"Ah, ok, making a little more sense now."

They laughed as they walked out towards the kitchen. The Doctor sat himself at the table as Jack began removing things from cupboards – intent on making coffee and pancakes.  
>"You want pancakes?"<br>"You're going to make me pancakes?"

"Of course I am lovely." Jack said, stressing the last word in a mocking tone despite wanting to say it seriously. In no time at all, Jack had whipped a plate full of pancakes in front of the Doctor accompanied with maple syrup. The Doctor thanked him and began eating, and Jack soon followed after pausing to admire him eat.

After enjoying breakfast, the pair were in the control room ready to depart. The Doctor was in a particularly good mood, dancing about the controls, Jack noticed while he lent against a pillar watching him. He couldn't help but think about how graceful he was, how passionate and intelligent, how …charismatic.  
>"I hope you don't mind, but I want to go somewhere… less technologically advanced. No… nuclear devices or large buildings and things."<br>"That's absolutely fine, Doc. I was thinking the same thing myself. So where are we going?"  
>"Not sure exactly, I'm letting the Tardis choose within my parameters."<br>Smiling, Jack took a step towards the Doctor as he stopped fiddling with dials. However there was a gentle thud before he reached the man, causing him to stumble and break the moment. The Timelord was filled with glee as he sprang towards the doors, bursting them open and leaping out into the sunshine. Jack almost couldn't believe his energy as he followed, just walking. 


	11. Chapter 11

Jack had to squint in the brightness of the light, due to the reflection of the snow. The Doctor was a few paces ahead, just looking about the place, while Jack also observed his surroundings. They were in a forest, perhaps the reason for the Doctor's lack of movements – he would have thought that the Tardis would have been kinder to him, if she could be. But this forest consisted mainly of pines, and was covered in a thick layer of snow. The sun gleamed down and made the white ground glisten and the frozen trees sparkle, and was surprisingly warm. Jack approached the Doctor and gave him a hug from behind.  
>"Haha, hey. Well what do you think?"<br>"I think it's snowy, and pretty. And…rather devoid of civilisation."  
>The Doctor grabbed Jack's hands, which were starting to go cold, and looked back to him. They were both glad to be wearing their coats.<br>"I think there is a village over that way, down that slope." The Doctor said; pointing forwards.  
>"Shall we?" Jack asked, as he broke his hug and stood beside the Doctor, and held out his hand for him to take. Without hesitation, he gasped Jack's hand and walked – half skipped – down the forest hill.<p>

They arrived in a quaint little village, small yet relatively busy. Each of the little houses along the street, which was devoid of snow, had a chimney made of sandstone with smoke softly billowing upwards. The villagers walked up and down the middle road, looking at the various stalls that were laden with various items along the 100m stretch. Inquisitively, they started looking at what was for sale at the shops – purchasing small things for the Tardis (mainly things to keep within the Tardis, but Jack did buy her a thank you present). They continued to walk down the street holding hands, and were surprised at how little of a reaction it caused among the people. It was really a pretty town, with the snow starting to gently fall upon the earth and houses as it grew darker. The Doctor muttered is admiration for it as he rested his head on Jack's shoulders, admiring it only because he was there with Jack.

At the end of the pebble street was a T intersection, with the middle of another street that spanned just over the same distance. Two doors to the left, on the other side of the road, was a tavern – one of the only buildings to be two storeys, so they assumed it was the local inn. They walked through the wooden doors and found a homely bar with a myriad of crooked wooden tables and stools around an open fireplace, with a small wooden staircase rising upwards in the far corner. The Doctor noticed the thin layer of dust that was built up upon the stairway, that wasn't present on the rest of the downstairs furniture.  
>"Did you want a drink of anything, Doctor?"<br>"No thanks, but I was thinking we could stay overnight here – something different to do?"

"Sounds great."

They approached the bar bench, to be greeted by an older man in an apron who had walked in from presumably the back storage room.  
>"What'll it be, fellas?" He asked with a slight grump in his voice, while tossing a tea towel over his shoulder.<br>"No drinks for the moment thanks, however we would like to book a room for the night if you have any available?"  
>The bartender looked at the Doctor as if he was joking, and then changed his expression to one of considering the pair of them crazy.<br>"You're not serious, are yeh?" He asked them, voiced reduced to a harsh whisper.  
>"Should we not be?" Jack asked, "You do offer rooms to stay in, don't you?"<br>"Aye, but they ain't used anymore these days. Not with…yeh know. Most travellin' folk return to wherever they's came from before dark 'round here. No need for to be stayin' in this town when they don't need to be."  
>Jack was puzzled, and the Doctor was suddenly intrigued – this explained the dust. The man read this, and gasped in shock.<br>"Yeh do know what I mean, don't yehs?" he asked ludicrously, and continued talking once he received shaking heads in response. "Gee, we've never had folk from that far out. Where youse come from anyways? Ain't a soul I've seen that didn't know o' the Beast."  
>"The Beast?" they asked in unison, as they heard the door slam against the frame and a collection of footsteps upon the wooden floor.<p>

"A fearsome creature, more dangerous than anything in this world." The man in the front of the party spoke aloud, walking towards them. The crowd of men that followed him, each dressed in hardy attire and clothing designed to keep them incredibly warm yet agile, seated themselves at the tables. It was the various weapons that they were yielding that made the Doctor uncomfortable, particularly as their leader continued to march towards them intimidatingly.  
>"Afternoon Draegr, you n' yeh men off on another search?" the bartender asked, tone slightly more subservient than it was previously.<br>"Aye, two children wandered into the forest this morning, and haven't been seen since."  
>"I was meanin' for the Beast, since I didn't think youse'd need arms for ta find two childs."<br>"We are, the Beast took'em. Ol' Sanyat said she saw it take'em when she was out gettin' her fruit. But more to the point Galdir, who are these men who say they haven' heard of the Beast?" The stocky man known as Draegr said, redirecting his attention to Jack and the Doctor.  
>"Dunno, they's were wantin' a room for the night. Didn't say where they's were from or their names."<p>

The Doctor smiled at Draegr, and waved his hand up welcomingly.  
>"Hi, I'm the Doctor and this is Jack. We are just travellers, we don't want to cause any fuss. We can go if you like."<p>

Galdir began to hand out ale to the men that were at the tables while Draegr spoke to Jack and the Doctor. The man was fairly short, but held an aura of authority that struck the Doctor as one of revered power. However, to his surprise, Draegr smiled at them and ushered them to a table, requesting some ale for them all.  
>"No need for that, you're welcome here. We just are used to strangers leaving nowadays. I don't blame them, really. This is the village closest to the Beast's cave, and sometimes at night it'll come into the town – we haven't seen it or heard it, but in the morning sometimes there will be fresh tracks in the snow scattered about. Us, we've lived here for as long as we can remember, so we ain't leaving. But it hasn't attacked in the village yet I think. 'Cept the travellers – they get all nervous about stayin' here. Since sometimes, some go missing in the night. We don't know if they go out to look and get taken, or if they leave early….but the stories are widespread enough for none to dare spend a night here."<p>

Draegr stopped to take a swig of the pint that was placed in front of him during his story, while the Doctor had lent forward and was resting his head upon his elbows that were propped on the table – thoroughly interested. Jack, however, was a little more nervous – he'd only just managed to save the Doctor last time and he wasn't sure how well they'd go against a creature 'more dangerous than anything'; not particularly considering their luck when it came to such things. Wiping froth from his mouth, Draegr continued talking.  
>"But to haven't heard of the Beast youse must be far from home, yes? The way you talk is different to what I've heard too."<br>"Yeah, come a long way. Listen, I heard you mention a forest before. Is that the one just north of here?" The Doctor asked, wondering if they had inadvertently come across this creature.  
>"Aye, that be the one. Ain't much difference really from the north or south forests, I guess. Just the creature. Why? Is that where you came from?"<p>

"Well, we came through there to get to here if that's what you mean."

"There are some that come from beyond that mountain, that the forest covers, but they all follow the river which youse no doubt did too – the mountain trail may be much shorter, but it's too dangerous now that the creature has made a home in a cave in it."  
>"No, the Doctor and I passed through on this ridge thing. Sort of near a cliff, and the land went downwards to a small river that we walked to and found this place. We left our – transport – up there on that cliff."<p>

Draegr looked shocked, much like the bartender had when he found out they didn't know of the deadly creature of the forest. Whom had now seated himself on the table with them as they talked.  
>"Well youse are damned lucky that you went through there during day. There are so many stories of people trying to walk through the forest, not by the river path, that aren't heard from again when they go at night. People from this village coming home…that never make it back." <p>


	12. Chapter 12

Jack was getting too uncomfortable with the talk of people going missing. Almost losing the man he loved mere days ago was still pushing against his mind too forcefully to ignore. He wanted to get back to the Tardis, the safe and sound Tardis. Snuggle up with his man on the couch watching a movie again, or play a board game. Something that didn't involve the possibility of death.  
>"Doctor, I want to go back to the Tardis." Jack stated, trying to make it an option for him but also giving him no choice but to concede and return with Jack. The Doctor did look a little surprised, but caught the tone and didn't argue.<br>"Ok Jack. We can come back some other time." 

Galdir looked confused. Quickly the Doctor explained that the Tardis was the name of their transportation, but the confused look only strengthened.  
>"Youse are goin' out now? It'll be dark by the time you'd get to the ridge youse talked about. Didn' youse hear Draegr talk about the travellin' folk goin' missin'?"<br>The Doctor realised that this was one of the planets that got dark very quickly, particularly where they were on it. It may have looked like midday but minutes ago, but in under half an hour the stars would be out.  
>"I don't want to stay here Doctor…really, I don't. And I don't want to go out into the forest at night!" Jack whined, much more afraid than the Doctor had seen before. Perhaps that was a good thing, that Jack was being more open with him?<p>

"Well, we'll take youse out there. Shouldn't be as much of a problem with all of us. Ain't no way we'd let youse go alone." Draegr said while standing, passing his mug back to Galdir. The men promptly followed their leader, as did Jack and the Doctor, shuffling out the door. The Doctor was right; it was already akin to twilight outside. Snow was falling more heavily, and the shop owners had almost packed away for the night. The soft snow crumpled beneath their shoes as they walked back through the street. It took much longer, walking uphill rather than downhill. The Doctor was surprised at Jack's unease - he had been in much worse, and was immortal; so if they did encounter the creature it wouldn't be as if he wouldn't survive. But Jack was worrying about the Doctor, instead. Darkness was settling in, and the trees looked progressively denser as they walked up the incline. The men stopped at this point, and withdrew two rocks from separate pouches in their pockets. They were small, but interesting - metallic and glowing blue. They were placed on top of the wooden torches that they were carrying, one in each little nook on either side of a small coiled metal wire that was inside a glass tube. As soon as the rocks were placed there, connected to the wire, it glowed brightly like a light. The Doctor quickly snatched Draegr's, and investigated it.  
>"Ha...they're using electricity! This is like an actual torch! See, Jack, these rocks are highly charged with electrical energy. When placed in these slots, the energy passes from one rock to the other through the wire that is in this gas, causing a bright glow. Brilliant!" The Doctor exclaimed, handing back the torch.<br>"Youse don't have these where youse are from?"

"No, ours are different. Where do you get the rocks from, though? And how do you recharge them?"  
>"We get them from the river - and when they no longer glow for us, we throw them back. Later, they are glowing again, so we take them. There are some stockpiled in the Lodge, if we need spares. The Beast doesn't go into the Lodge for some reason, even though it's close to the cave. We think the rocks come from the cave."<br>"The Lodge?"  
>"It's a small wooden house that was built before the Beast came. No one has lived there in years, but it is a good shelter for any that are lost in the forest - those who built it did so for to give traveller's a place to go if they needed it. Everyone knows to find the Lodge if they are lost in here. There are signs through the trees to it, and finding the way back from it is pretty easy."<br>"That's handy." The Doctor said, and was just about to explore the idea of the rocks harnessing the energy of the flowing river, perhaps magnetically, when Jack grabbed his arm.  
>"What is it Jack?"<br>"Doctor, look."  
>The Doctor looked out, but all he could see was an open clearing overlooking a view of the mountain in the close distance. It took the Doctor a moment to realise what Jack meant.<br>"Where is the Tardis?" the Doctor shouted, rushing towards where he left her. Jack followed, feeling dread wash over him. It was obvious the men had no idea what was going on, but they didn't seem to mind. Their culture was a very accepting one that didn't require definite explanation or understanding of things. Trying hard to breathe normally, Jack scrounged the ground for signs of footprints that might show where it was taken. The Doctor did so as well, and looked down over the ridge to see if she had fallen. Jack found definite movement, like the Tardis had been dragged in the snow. But the dragging trail didn't extend far - it just stopped suddenly mere metres away, with no other tracks following it. It just didn't make sense. But he had little time to think about it, once he saw the other set of tracks that surrounded the Tardis' drag line.  
>"Doctor, look at this. Really, you need to see this." He spoke, and the Doctor quickened his step from peering downwards to over towards Jack. The men gathered, looking at what Jack had seen. Curiously, the Doctor knelt down in the snow to investigate the prints clearly pressed into the white ground. They were large - extremely large. It was a wonder they weren't the first thing they noticed. They were about the length of the Doctor's arm, with six long toes that ended in sharp points were dangerous claws would have been.<p>

"The Beast." Draegr started, clearing having seen them before. "It looks like it's taken your Tardis. Probably back to its cave, that's where it keeps the things it hoards. I'm sorry, but I don't think you're getting it back. Youse'll have to walk back to your village. The Doctor just stood there, slightly stunned. Why would the Beast take her? What use would a blue box be to a vicious monster? Jack walked up to the Doctor and hugged him tight. The Doctor slowly rubbed his back, trying to comfort him.  
>"Don't worry, Jack. It will be ok. We'll get her back."<br>"How?" Jack muffled through the Doctor's trenchcoat. Before the Doctor had time to think, the men suddenly sprang to attention. They swung their torches around, facing the forest to the west of where they had come from. They raised their weapons; swords, shields and pitchforks among other things - there was even a string with two of the glowing rocks on either end. Shouting out to the forest, they managed to illuminate two eyes within the darkness, perched up high near the branches of the trees. Next, they were able to see the glistening of sharp teeth reflecting in the light; long and sharp teeth that could easily pierce flesh. Then there was a low, deep rumble that resounded through the trees and into their chests...a sound of a fearsome predator ready for the kill. Jack clung to the Doctor tighter, and allowed Draegr and his men to approach it alone. They jabbed at the air in its direction, shouting at it. In all honestly, the Doctor couldn't see how that would help deter such a creature. He still wasn't sure what they were dealing with, he had no idea what it looked like other than the glowing blue eyes, sharp teeth and large paws. The creature approached out of the darkness, revealing a glistening white scaly hide that shone sparkling white light and blue light outwards - much more so than the light shining upon it would suggest. It had a relatively long neck, only longer than a horse's neck in comparison to its body, causing the reptilian head to be perched up high and look over the mob that surrounded it. It was very muscular, with dangerous teeth, horns, spines and claws littering its body. It reared, revealing its underbelly laden with large plates, and baring its strong claws up above the heads of the men. They attempted to stab it, but the metal clanged upon the scales without leaving a scratch. It was when it stretched its large mighty wings that struck fear into the Doctor as well.

"A dragon. Doctor... it's a dragon." Jack muttered helplessly, unable to think of what to do. Unwelcomingly, a thought entered his mind. _That would explain why the tracks disappear, it flew the Tardis away._ He didn't want explanations now. He wanted to leave with the Doctor safe. But if that creature was hoarding the Tardis, the likelihood of getting off this planet alive was diminishing quickly. The dragon returned to all fours, and stared forcefully at the crowd. It withdrew something from its right paw, and threw it at the ground in front of Draegr. He picked it up, revealing it to be two small hats.  
>"The children's hats." He spoke. "You killed them! And now you proud your accomplishments to us?" Draegr shouted, and lunged at the creature. He stabbed it in the paw, hardly causing a reaction from the creature. It sniffed the air, and looked straight at the Doctor. He could feel the dragon's piercing gaze searching through his soul, bursting through his hearts. It bared its teeth, but before it could do anything else, it was swarmed with the men again. The Doctor didn't get the feeling of hate, anger or malice from the stare, and was curious as to why it would allow the men to behave in such a way without harming them. Amazingly, it lowered its head, raised it again and turned around to run back into the darkness.<p>

Jack loosened his grip that had turned his fingers white before. But he dare not let go.  
>"What happened?" The Doctor asked Draegr, who was now approaching them.<br>"The Beast doesn't attack crowds. We think it doesn't want to have survivors to run off and warn the others to leave - so it has continual supply of prey."  
>"That's...very intelligent of it. I also got the feeling that it was much more intelligent than a crude monster."<br>"Ok Doctor, let's not play the 'analyse the monster' game, and get out of here."  
>The Doctor gently kissed his forehead as he agreed. This confirmed Draegr's assumptions.<br>"Come on, youse two. We'll figure out how to get your Tardis thing back. In the meanwhile, youse can stay at Galdir's. We has to go back now, is getting dangerous. And I have to tell the children's parents what's happened." The men walked off at Draegr's order, and he followed them. He wanted to give the two new men some space, but not leave them too far away. 


	13. Chapter 13

Galdir greeted them when they returned to the inn, having some bread and ale ready for Draegr. Jack couldn't help but marvel at how friendly these people were. Draegr entered the inn with the Doctor and Jack, and the other men went back to their homes. They sat at the table closest to the fire that was just beginning to die down into smouldering coals.  
>"I'd thought youse'd be gone." Galdir spoke, fetching them some bread as well.<br>"Their Tardis is gone. Taken, by the Beast."  
>"Youse'd be having ta walk, then? I'm sorry, really. Ain't nothin' gets outta its lair once it's in."<br>Jack held onto the Doctor's hand while they sat beside each other.  
>"Don't worry, you two. We'll get it back. But for now, just stay here n' rest. Galdir n' his wife'll make youse something nice for dinner. Should be soon, the other folk'll be here too. Just… try to have a good time, no use worryin' over it tonight. I gotta go now, tell the Blanzes that their children are gone. Not exactly a gjörtna festival. But I should be back after that, gonna need a drink no doubt before headin' home."<p>

With that, Draegr left and Galdir went to the kitchen to help prepare the evening meal. Jack and the Doctor spoke for a while, about various things. Jack explained his discomfort for being in places of danger, that is was more that he was afraid for the Doctor's health. After half an hour of arbitrary conversation, with some heartfelt comments, both were starting to feel much more relaxed. They drunk the ale, which they assumed was helping with relaxing and forgetting about the Tardis being taken. It wasn't long until they were laughing in front of the fire, rather loudly – enough to make Galdir return to the bar to see what was going on. However by the time he got there, silence had fallen and all he could hear was the fire cackling away while the Doctor and Jack kissed. He smiled at them, holding hands and passionately sharing their mouths, and quietly returned to peeling vegetables. They broke lips when they heard the sound of the door creak open, and a small group walk in. The Doctor looked a little embarrassed, but the redness in his cheeks faded as Jack grasped his hand tighter and smiled.

The group smiled and nodded to them, and took a seat on a nearby table. Slowly, the tables began to fill as time wore on, and the room was filled with enticing scents coming from the kitchen. The crowd were exuberant, but this seemed to be the norm – people laughing and sharing tales. Jack wished this life was more common throughout the universe. It wasn't long before large plates of alien food was brought out and placed at members of the tables – each delicately plated but hearty and full. Jack wasn't sure what it resembled, but the sauce was completely unique that covered a range of vegetables and a steak of some kind of meat. It was really lunch for them, but it had been a tiresome day and they were still rather tired from the past few. Thanking Galdir, they ate their meals which tasted wonderful.  
>"All things considered," the Doctor said while swallowing a mouthful, "This has turned out to be really enjoyable."<br>Jack agreed by nodding, as he was busy chewing his meat. The ale they had tasted fruity sweet, and without the alcohol tang – but with all the effects. Jack made a mental note to take some home with him.

When dinner was almost over, Draegr walked in and seated himself with the Doctor and Jack. Galdir brought him some ale and sat with him for a bit, supportingly rubbing his back. There wasn't much that could be said. Galdir left, being needed elsewhere, leaving the Doctor and Jack to make small talk with Draegr for an hour or so. The crowd dissipated, and Draegr headed off to his home as well after an enjoyable (perhaps not so much for him) evening. Galdir came back out once the crowd had left, and told the pair that their room was ready.  
>"I changed the bed sheets n' lit the fire before so it'll be nice n' warm for yehs. I assumed youse'd only need the one bed." He said with a smile. Jack nodded at him, understanding what he meant. He was glad that he and the Doctor could be open here. They thanked him for the meal and hospitality, and walked upstairs. It wasn't hard to find which room was theirs – it was the one with the dust removed from the floor in the hall. Walking in, they were hit with a wave of heat that was most welcome – the hallway was freezing. The bed was large, and comfortable. The fireplace was across the room from the bed, the foot facing it.<p>

Jack shut the door behind them, and walked behind the Doctor and grabbed him around his waist. Laughing, the Doctor turned him around so that they were facing each other. For some reason, they found the cackling of the fire comforting and romantic. The Doctor hummed as he exhaled, sinking into Jack's muscular chest. He rubbed his nose along Jack's ear and around to his cheek then against his nose. They stood there, absorbing each other's company with their foreheads pressed together. Jack entwined his fingers in the Doctor's; and by the way the Timelord had his other hand on his shoulders, Jack felt like they were about to start dancing. A slow, gentle and romantic dance. But there wasn't any music, or sounds other than the fire in the fireplace or their soft footsteps on the wooden floor. Instead, they shared another kiss, just as passionate as the one downstairs. Despite having happened many times now, Jack still felt a jolt of electricity dance up his spine at the feeling of the Doctor's tongue meeting his. He doubted he would ever tire of these moments.

Galdir, after having finished cleaning this tavern, stood at the bar. He was talking with Draegr, who had returned after spending some time alone in his house.

"You need someone, Drae'. Someone ta come home ta at the end o' the day. Be good for yeh. Save you haven' to spend your evenin's with an ol' bartender."  
>"You're my closest friend Galdir, I enjoy these late night talks. And besides, most folk don't want to have a relationship with me. I don't exactly live a safe life, with that Beast out there. I can' go off tryin' to kill a ferocious creature durin' the day or huntin' other creatures for the village and have someone waiting for me at home…never knowin' if I'll ever come back. I mean, it was different before…but now…"<br>Draegr stopped talking, remembering the past and Galdir didn't push it. He knew this was a hard topic for his friend who had been through so much. And he knew that he wouldn't ever stop hunting that Beast. He was looking for a change of conversation, anything. That was when he noticed an odd noise – like loud noises that were being muffled from a distance. He cocked his head to the side, to try and listen better and invite Draegr into the different conversation.  
>"Can you hear that?"<br>"Aye, what is it? Kind of sounds like… fighting."

Galdir listened, and he realised his friend was right. There was banging coming from upstairs, as if furniture was being knocked about. But also a steady thumping, with grunts and shouts.  
>"Sounds like it's coming from upstairs… isn't that where those two men are staying? Jack and that Doctor?"<br>"Aye, Drae', 'tis."  
>"Perhaps they got into an argument or something, I suppose tensions could get a little high bein' stranded and all."<br>"Maybe…" Galdir said, but had other things in mind. Draegr just looked at him, waiting for a reaction.  
>"Well, should we try and break it up? They could break your furniture and injure themselves. I'm sure they don't mean it."<br>"Nah, Drae', I think they're ok. You're righ', I think they care about each other very much."  
>"…so you think they're together in a relationship as well, Galdir?"<br>"Aye, I know so from the way they was kissin' at dinner. Which is why I don't think theys need our help."  
>Draegr suddenly put two and two together, understanding what his friend was meaning. Suddenly they were rather uncomfortable, sitting there in the quiet with nothing to listen to other than the noises from upstairs that were getting louder. Deciding it was time for bed, the men bid each other goodnight. Draegr walked out into the snow, which was falling heavily in the strong wind, and Galdir walked towards his house extension of the complex where his wife awaited him. <p>


	14. Chapter 14

Jack awoke suddenly in the morning, as light suddenly pierced through the window. Only then did he feel how cold it had gotten overnight, but he doubted the man whom he had his arms wrapped around would notice. Gently, Jack kissed him on the neck before rising out of the bed – which he realised was a lot warmer than the air in the room. He walked over to the fireplace, where there were only a few coals left: tiny, blackened and barely still warm. Jack built up a fire again, slowly, until he managed to get a sizable log going. The Doctor still slept. Jack dressed himself, and pulled the blanket up higher over his love. Just making it to the door, creaking it open, he heard a voice behind him. The Doctor had sat up, with the blanket still covering him, and was looking at Jack leaving.  
>"Go back to sleep, hun. I'm just going downstairs."<br>"Not without me, I've had enough sleep." The Doctor stated before swiftly getting up and beginning to put clothes on. Jack was amazed with how he had gotten away with using that term of endearment on the Doctor – he had only said it for fun, expecting the Doctor to make a joking comment in return. But he kind of liked it, how it was received seriously. Before long, the skinny man had dressed himself in his suit and was passing Jack who stood in the doorway, pressing his body up against the Captain's and pressing their lips together briefly. They held hands as they strolled down into Galdir's bar, which upon arrival seemed still closed.

They left a note, the Doctor writing it for them so that it would be understood. It said that they were so grateful for the hospitality, and that they had gone out to search for the Tardis. The sun was shining warmly, which was causing the snow to soften and get caught in their coats that trailed the ground. However as Jack looked to the sky, it didn't look like it would stay sunny long – despite being just on dawn. The dark ominous clouds approaching meant yet more snow. But they didn't mind, once they found the Tardis they didn't have to return in the dark or cold snow. Since they didn't have to leave anywhere with the Tardis, they just had to get to it, the fact that it was now guarded by a dragon didn't seem as important. Jack noted the use of the key word 'as' when the Doctor told him his plan last night. Honestly, Jack didn't see how they were going to get in there. But the Doctor seemed confident, he loved him for that, and so Jack was happy to do whatever was required.

The Doctor seemed to know where he was going, with a combination of Draegr's directions and his Timelord sense of direction. Jack was grateful for this, since he didn't have a clue where they were. The forest all looked the same to him, and every now and again got the feeling that they were being watched. But he assumed he was just being paranoid – there was nothing but whiteness amid the trees. It had been over two hours since they left the village, and still hadn't reached anything that could be used as a landmark in Jack's eyes.  
>"Doctor, are we lost?"<br>"No, of course not! We're at the bottom of that ridge, Jack. The one we parked the Tardis on – it's up over there." The Doctor pointed upwards in the distance, and Jack saw a small cliff face.  
>"Right. So…where does that make us?"<br>"Close to the dragon's lair, I think. Should be a cave in this mountain coming up, like a gaping mouth opening in the side of a rock cliff face…a massive hole in the side of a mountain."  
>Jack's muscles tensed tightly, and not from the cold. Although it had been getting colder since they started walking, and it was a lot darker now. But he was still terrified for the Doctor's safety, and being around a dragon's lair was not one of the more safe places in the universe. Then again it wasn't like they had much choice – they had to get there sooner or later.<p>

The wind started to pick up, and that sent a chill to Jack's bones. He started to shiver and moved closer to the Doctor, who still didn't seem to mind all that much – he was still warm enough. They walked to the peak of a small mound that they were climbing, and saw it. A massive dark cave, with stalactites and stalagmites at the entrance giving the impression of teeth. Jack considered that very appropriate. They walked closer, until they were almost at the bottom of the rocky escarpment to the mouth of the cave, which sat ten or so metres above ground level. Then a white form walked out into the light, still sparkling in the dim glow of the sun. It snapped its attention to the pair below its lair – and stood frozen, piercing them with its cyan blue gaze. The men didn't move either. Slowly, Jack pulled the Doctor so that he was behind him. The dragon tilted its head to the side. It then noticed the thick snow that was blowing into them and the ground, and looked at the dark sky – moving its whole head upwards. The Doctor took this moment to start running in the other direction. The dragon roared, a loud deep roar that rumbled throughout the trees, but also had high pitched notes layered over the top. It didn't chase them, however, and Jack was glad for it.

They made it over the mound and slid in the snow as the strong winds howled against them. There was a whooshing sound, and the dragon took flight. Jack peered over the edge, while they lay in the snow, and saw the massive beast in the air – frantically beating its blue wings in an attempt to fly against the wind. It growled in frustration, and landed just on the other side of the mound to them. The Doctor leapt up and ran downwards and to the left, Jack on his heels. The dragon, forced to remain flightless, took after them in the snow. The men ran, terrified, towards a clearing. The Doctor feared that the dragon could chase them better without having to avoid trees, but couldn't think of anywhere else to run. The trees stopped, as did the downhill slope which flattened out entirely. The expanse was large, with the forest continuing up a hill far on the other side. The Doctor felt the ground was strange, like the snow was more solid yet thinner at the same time. Jack looked over his shoulder to see how close the dragon was, only to find that it had stopped at the forest's edge. It roared again, differently to last time. More… desperately. It padded along in the snow, pacing back and forward. Jack had stopped the Doctor to see what was going on. The dragon continued to growl at them, yet refused to take a step closer.

"What… do you suppose it's doing?" Jack panted to the Doctor. The Doctor shook his head, wondering why the dragon didn't want to venture out onto the flat ground. The wind howled stronger, slapping them in the face – so hard that the Doctor lost his footing and fell hard upon the ground. It was then he suddenly understood the dragon. There was a deep rumble as he hit the ground, which was only softened by a thin layer of snow before hard ice. Sharp splintering followed the rumble, and deafening cracks resounded from where the Doctor lay motionless. Dread washed over him and he dared not move once he heard the sound of the ice cracking. Jack looked at him fearfully, with barely enough time to meet his eye before the ice gave way and he plummeted into the black depths below the lake.

The dragon screamed, as did Jack. The Doctor must have landed on a thin section, like a trapped bubble or similar, because the ice that Jack stood upon was thick enough to withstand his weight easily. Jack had dropped to his knees, trying to look into the water to see if the Doctor was resurfacing – but much to his dismay, there were only air bubbles that rose to the surface. The Timelord's body, while able to resist colder temperatures, had stiffened in the coldness of the water. The Doctor couldn't move a muscle, and the sudden temperature change had forced all the air out of his lungs and caused him to inhale a lungful of water. He was sinking, down and down and there wasn't any way he could get himself up. His vision started fading as his brain began to shut down from the cold that was searing his body. He was barely able to register something grabbing him as he lost consciousness. Jack had dived half his body in, really straight after the ice had cracked but it seemed much longer, and grabbed the Doctor. Clenching to his chest, Jack heaved the body upwards and out of the freezing water.

Jack dragged him onto the surrounding snow that melted into the iced-over lake and froze after the water soaked into it from the Doctor's body. Jack didn't notice the cold on his top half; he just noticed how the Doctor wasn't moving. Jack fumbled to roll him on his side, and opened his mouth – noticing how cold his deathly white skin was. Jack couldn't tell whether or not it was because he was also wet from the water, or the dread of the Doctor's state, but a wave of cold washed over him. Why, why does this keep happening? Water poured from the Doctor's mouth, spilling from his lungs, as Jack continued to pant in fear. He was glad that his immortality gave him resistance from life-threatening situations, but was beginning to fear that there was some kind of karma causing the Doctor to get injured to the point of death. Could make sense – the immortal and the Timelord causing havoc on the space-time continuum and the universe wants to correct it? Maybe, this kind of thing would be for the Doctor to think about. Jack shook his head to push those thoughts away, he couldn't afford distraction right now – the Doctor wasn't breathing and there was a dragon at the lake's edge wanting to eat them. Bigger things to think about.

"Breathe, damn it Doc. Come on!" Jack shouted, grabbing his mouth and breathing into his lungs – for the second time this week. His lips were frozen, his skin white and wet as he started to pound at the Doctor's chest over both of his hearts. Even when Jack dripped water onto his cheek from his hair it started to freeze in the wind – making him fear that the Doctor wouldn't wake. From a distance, Jack heard the dragon roar again – reminding him that he had limited time. The wind died down to almost a standstill for a moment, causing the dragon to take off into the air. Jack gave another strong breath to the Doctor, who thankfully began coughing and spluttering to breathe again. Jack grabbed the sides of his head and gave him a kiss – what he feared was their last kiss, since the dragon was rapidly approaching from the sky.  
>"Don't scare me like that Doc!"<br>The wind suddenly started again, causing the dragon to flutter off course, and giving Jack some extra time to grab the Doctor and pull him to his feet.  
>"I'm so sorry, but we have to go… please Doctor, we have to get out of here." Jack muttered desperately to the man he clung to, holding almost his entire weight since the Doctor just couldn't stand. Jack was freezing himself, but his body was rapidly returning to normal temperature. Looking out to see where they could find shelter from the Beast, Jack suddenly saw the Lodge that had been hidden in the blanket of snow that had been falling before.<br>"The Lodge… it's safe there. It's not far, you just gotta walk there Doctor." Jack said as he held onto the Doctor's sopping body and tried to run. But he couldn't. And he was out of time.


	15. Chapter 15

The dragon descended, grabbing the men with its two front paws and rising again into the air. The grip was tight, and so Jack couldn't struggle out of it- yet surprisingly, the claws were not hurting him. The wind roared, and the dragon wobbled in flight. It beat its wings hard, but to no avail – the snowstorm was proving too much to fly in. The dragon was forced to land, right at the Lodge. It softly dropped Jack and the Doctor in the snow next to the small stone wall that surrounded the wooden hut and landed with as much grace as it could in the snow beside them. Jack, upon hitting the ground, grabbed the Doctor and ran towards the Lodge. It didn't chase them – it just stood there and watched, with a groan of disappointment, as they fled into the building.

The wooden door was open, and Jack barged through practically dragging his companion. He slammed it shut behind him, and moved into the open lounge that had a fireplace and two armchairs, a table and a rug on the floor. He laid the Doctor on the rug, and started removing his sopping wet clothes. His trenchcoat made a loud squelch as he flung it across the room, followed by his jacket and shirt and tie. Jack's fingers were still cold, relatively, and so had difficulty with the buttons and his belt. But it wasn't a moment later and Jack had stripped the Doctor bare. He grabbed one of the blankets he had noticed upon the table, and tossed it over the deathly white skin of the Timelord. Next he stripped himself down just as quickly, and lay down under the blanket grasping the Doctor. He pressed the frozen body into his, desperately trying to warm it from his own body heat. It seemed like ages that he stayed there rubbing the Doctor all over to try and increase the amount of heat. Slowly, the Doctor began to shiver again. Jack was relieved, and was able to relax a little. It was then that he realised that they were pressed together naked, yet there was nothing sexual about it at all – which was odd for him.

"Th-th-thank you, J-J-Jack." The Doctor stuttered amid chattering teeth. He could feel the warmth radiating from Jack's body, and he could also feel it spreading from his chest with the thought of what Jack has been doing for him.  
>"You have to take better care of yourself, Mister." Jack said, jokingly. The Doctor smiled, and buried his head closer.<p>

They were completely dry now, yet a chill still remained on the Doctor's skin and he was still shaking. Jack continued to rub his back, and the Doctor enjoyed it. Slowly the Doctor became warm again, and able to move his muscles. He felt sick, but didn't want to say anything. Jack was glad that he wasn't shaking anymore. The Doctor sat up, to seat himself in a chair, but stopped as the world started spinning.  
>"Doc?"<br>The colour that had returned to the Doctor's face was lost again, and he grasped his stomach.  
>"Going to be sick…" He muffled, before leaning further to the side and vomiting into (thankfully) a basket. Jack winced, he hating his love being sick. He lent closer and rubbed his back supportingly, and moved the blanket so it covered him again. Once he was finished, and his stomach had settled, Jack helped the Doctor up to sit in a chair that faced the fire. He moved the blanket again, and took another from the table and put it on top of the other one. Jack kissed him on forehead, which was starting to gain colour again. The Doctor smiled, took Jack's hand for a moment and then closed his eyes.<p>

Jack reached for the soaking wet coat he had taken off, to get his lighter out of the pocket. Thankfully there was a bundle of kindle and some larger sticks and some logs inside near the fireplace. He got a fire going, something he was becoming good at. After an hour or so, the fire was roaring with two large logs on it and radiating much wanted heat out into the room. Jack was eternally grateful for the people of this planet's culture of hospitality. He made a note to do something for them when they got back to the Tardis.

Jack had lain out their wet clothes in front of the fire when he had gotten it started in order for them to dry. He'd also cleaned up the mess the Doctor made, which left him feeling much more like an important part of his life. Not like the boyfriend that just is there for the good times, but like the husband that is there always - good times and bad - for support as well as fun. Though he knew never to mention this out loud, as just the word 'husband' would cause panic in the Doctor...even when just describing a feeling of the situation, not actually implying marriage.

The Doctor continued to sleep, and Jack sat in the chair that was half facing the fireplace and half facing the other chair. Just watching him sleep. He didn't know what it was, about enjoying seeing him sleeping, but Jack felt peaceful when he did. Jack was his protector, the one to guard him and watch over him. Like a dragon guards its hoard. Jack's face slumped at that, because it reminded him of just how not a metaphor that was anymore.

His clothes were now dry, since they weren't as wet at the Doctor's suit. Jack put them on, only because he was planning to go outside - not because he felt obligated to be clothed at all times possible. The wood supply had run out, but Jack had seen a small shelter outside through a window that housed some larger logs and an axe to cut them to size. It had been quite a while since having to do that, he thought as he walked out the door. The light was almost blinding, as the sun was shining down forcefully and the snow reflected the light and glared into his eyes. He had forgotten that it was still almost the middle of the day; it was so cosy inside and had been paying attention to other things, not the changing weather. The snow crunched under his boots, after having just fallen, as he walked towards the little shelter. He pulled out a log, about a metre in length, and dragged it to a large wooden block along with the axe.

Jack raised the axe above his head, but hesitated. There was something in the corner of his eye that just didn't seem right. He looked to the side, and met eye-to-eye with the dragon. Jack didn't move, but wasn't afraid this time. The Doctor was safe inside, and so there was no reason for him to be afraid really. The dragon blended into the snow so well, it was hard to see it without know it was there. It stared back, but Jack felt that the gaze was more 'interested' than 'hunting'. The dragon lowered its rear end, seating itself in the snow to watch Jack. Not worried, Jack continued to use the axe to chop up the log. He could still see the dragon, moving its head up and down with the movement of the axe, and lowering itself so all four legs were resting in the snow. But it never shifted its brilliant blue gaze. Jack put the axe down after finishing chopping the wood, and stretched. The dragon cocked its head to the side as he did this, causing him to look back at it. His stomach decided that was a good moment to growl, reminding him that he was hungry, causing the dragon to swap sides of its tilted head. Jack pulled out a piece of fruit from his pocked that he saved from breakfast (they had picked some from a tree on the way) and ate it. Upon biting it, the dragon jumped up and moved to seat itself right on the other side of the small wall, resting its head on the snow and looking up at him. Now Jack was curious – this ferocious beast was acting more like a domesticated dog than a ferocious beast. Nervously, Jack stepped closer to it, causing it to extend its neck and raise its head up to rest above Jack. He held the fruit out to it, despite knowing it would rather take a bite of his hand than the fruit. Slowly the dragon moved its head to sniff the fruit, and tilted its head like a dog again at Jack's stomach noises. It sniffed again, and swiftly turned away and leapt into the forest sky. 


	16. Chapter 16

Jack was starting to doubt himself. It really didn't seem that this dragon had the intention of harming them. Maybe he'd been looking at things wrong – sure, the dragon chased them, but they had walked onto its territory and it may have just wanted to warn them about the storm. Jack picked up one of the smaller logs he'd cut and placed it on the stump to begin splintering. Now that he thought about it, the dragon had only tried to grab them when the Doctor fell into the water. It then dropped them safely at the Lodge. It didn't attack when it was threatened with weapons. He thrust the axe down again, the wood splitting in half. Well, there were those children…

Jack was snapped out of his thoughts and slow movements by the sound of flapping wings. With a whoosh and a soft thud onto the ground, snow crumpling at its feet, the dragon returned. Jack jumped backwards in shock, since it had landed right in front of him. His heart pounded through his chest as he stared at it, frozen at the spot. The dragon dropped a pile of fruit at Jack's feet and took a step backwards to land on all fours. It nudged the top of the pile towards Jack and moved its head towards the Lodge before leaping backwards to behind the stone wall. There it returned to its position of laying down in the snow, watching Jack's movements. Jack looked at the small pile. The fruit the dragon had brought were identical to what he had been eating not a moment ago. Bewildered, Jack picked up a piece of the fruit. The dragon seemed to pick up its attention, and watch, intrigued, as Jack took a bite. He swallowed, and he could have sworn he saw it smile.

He nodded to it, and returned to chopping wood. The dragon made a noise, but markedly different to the growls and screeches heard before. This was more like a purr, but with a curious tone like a song. It watched as Jack pulled another branch over and chopped it up – unfortunately, the wood had been sitting there for some time and most had begun to rot and all but those two were soaked solid from the snow. The dragon stood and bounced towards the forest's edge, and stood looking at Jack from beside a tree. Jack thrust the axe down, and the dragon whipped its arrowhead tail swiftly into the trunk. Hearing the slice and crack, Jack paid more attention and saw that the dragon, in one quick fluid motion, had cut the tree clean off. The trunk swayed and fell to the ground, making a loud cracking sound as small branches snapped under the weight. It grabbed the top end with its front claws and stood on its hind legs, dragging the fell wood towards the Lodge. It looked at Jack's log, and then at its own. With a swish of its tail again, the branches of the pine were stripped off and lain on the snow beside it. Jack was curious to see if the dragon was copying him, and so chopped a fireplace-sized chunk off the end. The dragon, making the noise again and looking between its and Jack's logs, swiftly sliced the same size chunk out of its tree – and within the same second, had chopped the rest of the tree up into chunks. The tail was obviously incredibly sharp and powerful – Jack made a mental note to keep an eye on it. Even though he now knew the dragon to be friendly – well, not mindlessly vicious, it was still dangerous. And not to be trusted.

It sniffed the air, looking at the smoke that was billowing from the chimney, and then looked back at the logs. It then picked up one of its logs, and inhaled. It then breathed out a jet of fire, blazing bright white and blue like its scales. Jack felt the wave of heat that wafted over to him from the dragon, and watched as within a second the log was smouldering in its palm. It then reached out and tried to hand the glowing coals to Jack. Jack just stood there, thinking how the dragon thought nothing of the heat it was holding. It looked disappointed, and its features dropped as it made a sorrowful noise. Jack pointed to a circle of rocks in the snow, where a fire once burnt. It understood, and placed the smouldering coals in the ring. Jack decided that he had been apart from the Doctor long enough, and so collected the wood he chopped and walked back inside – noticing how the dragon returned to its place in the snow behind the wall and crawled up in a ball to sleep.

Jack walked in, and put the pile of wood near the fireplace and put a few pieces on the fire. He then walked back over to the armchair where the Doctor appeared to be dozing. He gently knelt in front of him on the chair, pressing his knees on either side of the Doctor's legs on top of the blanket. Lovingly, he pressed his lips up against the –now warm- lips of the resting Timelord. The Doctor stirred, and began to kiss back. He opened his golden brown eyes and looked into Jack's crystal blue ones, smiling.  
>"You okay?" Jack asked him quietly, so close that the Doctor could feel the warm breath on his neck.<br>"I feel much better now. That was just quite a shock to my system. But all healed now."  
>"Healed?"<br>"Yeah you may have broken a rib whilst compressing my chest, or popped it out of place or something."  
>"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Jack said as he immediately lifted himself off the Doctor, not wanting to cause more harm.<br>"No really, it's fine, I'm all better now." The Doctor said, and indicated for Jack to come back closer. Not needing another invitation, Jack returned to his original seat on the Doctor's lap. He kissed him passionately again, grabbing his head and playing with his long brown hair. There was something romantic about being alone in the forest in a Lodge, even more so now that it was starting to get darker as the day was slowly dwindling. That, and the fact that neither of them were in any danger anymore. They broke their kiss, and the Doctor looked up at him and began to speak.  
>"The day-night cycle of this planet is quite unusual."<p>

Jack's face dropped slightly. He had been expecting something a little more related to them, and what they were currently doing. Attempting to bring the topic back to intimate grounds, Jack responded.  
>"Yeah. But it does mean that soon it will just be us by the fire in the dark, basking in its warm glow."<br>"Hmm," the Doctor chuckled, "That does sound lovely, and quite poetic for you Jack."  
>Jack smiled at him. There was nothing said for a few moments, and all that could be heard was the soft cackling of the fire as it burnt away into the fading light. The cabin was now surprisingly warm, so much so that Jack felt the need to remove his coat. He dropped it to the floor beside the comfortable chair that he still knelt upon, with the Doctor beneath him.<br>"That reminds me," the Doctor uttered as he slowly attempted to get up, "I still have to put my clothes on."  
>Jack smiled at him and pushed him back into the chair and kissed him again.<br>"Maybe you don't need them yet." He whispered into the Doctor's ear, the warm breath causing a tingle to run down the Timelord's spine. The lust that was masked behind those words was not lost on the Doctor, who happily reached out and wrapped his arms around Jack's muscular body and pulled him closer. Jack felt more balanced, now that he was properly straddling the Doctor and not half-falling off the armchair; and he decided that he wanted to explore a little more with his love first. So Jack moved in towards the Doctor's face, but missed his expecting lips and kissed his ear instead. Upon touching it with his tongue, the Doctor shivered and let out a quiet moan of pleasure and surprise. Jack, by now, was hunched forwards with his elbows resting on the back of the armchair and his hands still playing with the Doctor's hair as he licked and kissed down the Doctor's bare neck.

The Doctor didn't object to Jack's actions, and happily drew the blanket further downwards to reveal more skin as he tried to slip Jack's shirt off. It wasn't long before all of their clothes were back on the floor near the fire, and their bodies were pressed up together in the armchair. Jack was trailing is mouth downwards slowly, eager to try and give the Doctor something he mightn't have experienced before. The Doctor ran his hands up and down Jack's figure, relishing at the feel of the hot and soft skin beneath his fingers, as he tingled from the Captain's actions on his chest. He just felt like he was so much closer to him, with his face pressed against his chest that held both pounding hearts. He couldn't believe just how much he loved this man, considering their past and how much he'd buried his feelings (regardless of what they were) for him. The Doctor contented himself to rubbing Jack's back, since he couldn't reach his lips with his own from this position – he wanted to express the feelings of closeness, but didn't want to interrupt Jack either. Jack moved further down and out of his reach, and so the Doctor arched his back before sitting up slowly to get closer.

The dragon perked its head up from the bundle it had curled itself into, and looked at the cabin. It tilted its head to the side, as before, and made a similar noise of curiosity as it heard the loud noises that were penetrating the wooden walls. It straightened its neck at hearing the yelling, but didn't move forwards. With its exceptional hearing, it could make out every noise as if it wasn't being muffled through a thick wall, and somehow knew that whatever was happening in there, wasn't bad and didn't need to be stopped. It was now dark, and another cold night was ahead. So the dragon got up and lifted the wood it had cut and walked over to the door of the Lodge and placed it in a pile on the doormat. Why these creatures lived in boxes with fire inside, it wasn't sure. But for some reason, it felt that it needed to be around these two. Like they were important. They were definitely different, and not from the places that the others of their kind came from. They didn't try to hurt it, for one thing. And the dragon had noticed that the one in the brown smelt different, like it wasn't the same as the other creatures despite looking the same. Confused as to these feelings, the dragon decided sleep was good and returned to its original spot. It breathed a large lungful of fire, bright white and blue, onto the ground where it was curled up – leaving black singe marks in a large circle and the small rocks glowed bright red. It then proceeded to snuggle up into a ball on top of the newly scorched earth, which was still radiating heat, and sleep – ignoring the continuing loud noises of the two creatures in the wooden box. 


	17. Chapter 17

The Doctor had found two mattresses lying under the table, material stuffed with something soft, and had laid them in front of the fire with Jack's help. There were accompanying pillows, and so they had fashioned a large bed out of them both and snuggled up next to each other, throwing the blankets on top. But because the fire was growing dim, Jack woke and put the last of the logs he brought in that he chopped. While he did, he wondered if the dragon would let him take some that it cut – no doubt they would need more soon to keep the cold out. Jack rose, to go out and get more of the wood. They had put their clothes on to keep warmer, except for their coats which hung on the wall near the fire.  
>"Jack? Where are you going?"<br>Jack was half standing, and so knelt down further to kiss him on the forehead.  
>"Just going to get more wood lovely for the fire. Go back to sleep."<br>The Doctor lifted his head up so he could give a quick peck on the lips, and he grabbed Jack's hand while he did so.  
>"You don't have to do everything, I'm not useless. I can go get some."<br>"I know you're not useless. But I am here to take care of you. For once, you don't have to be the strong one…I am here for you to lean upon. You need it, and don't argue. You've spent so much of your life running and hiding everything away, I remember Davros saying that you don't look back because you dare not – and you know that he was right. And that darkness, you can't keep it hidden beneath you, Doctor. It is poison – it won't ever leave you alone until you kill it. It will just stay there and haunt you forever until one day you can't get back up again. That mask you wear has become too worn, and the burden shows. I just want you to know that I am here for you, always, and you can talk to me about anything. Anytime."  
>Jack concluded with another kiss on the forehead as he got up and walked to the door. The Doctor just lay there, bemused as to how the topic of conversation had served to there. First they were talking about wood and then Jack was telling him about not suppressing the darkness that he hid away? Maybe he was right though. Deciding it was better to sleep on it than try and decipher whilst that tired, the Doctor rested his head upon the pillow. He could hear Jack open the door, and could almost feel the wave of cold that blew in.<p>

"What?" Jack exclaimed, standing at the doorway. Looking up, the Doctor saw Jack standing at the door in front of a large pile of chopped wood.  
>"If you brought it to the door, why couldn't you have brought it a few steps further and taken it inside?" the Doctor asked, sitting upwards.<p>

"I didn't do this. It must have been the dragon."

The Doctor rose quickly at the mention of the dragon, and stepped over towards Jack – who had forgotten to mention his observations of the dragon.  
>"The dragon? Why would the dragon have done it? What's going on Jack?" the Doctor asked as he came up behind Jack and grabbed him by the waist, resting his chin on his muscular shoulder. As he peered over, being slightly taller, he could see the immaculately sliced wood in a pile on the doorstep, with fading large clawed footprints leading to and away from it. Together, they brought the wood inside, while Jack told the Doctor about the dragon copying him and offering him food and wood. They snuggled back into bed, yawning, and decided to talk further in the morning. The Doctor was thinking something quite different to what Draegr had suggested – and hoped Jack agreed with him.<p>

Time passed, but Jack couldn't sleep. His mind was buzzing, mainly about his last lecture to the Doctor and about the dragon. He looked out into space with the Doctor resting in his warm embrace, almost dozing. He suddenly snapped his attention back to his surroundings when the Doctor started to jerk in his sleep. Jack knew he suffered from nightmares, but felt at a loss as to what to do. The Doctor mumbled something in Gallifreyan, his expression pained. He continued to jerk, limbs flailing about in the bed. Suddenly he went back to speaking either English or a language the Tardis would translate – wherever she was.  
>"No….no, I… it can't…please, no." He mumbled, sounding his terrified, and shaking. It hurt Jack, having to listen. He wanted to know what was happening and help; he knew that there were more than enough reasons to why – of what he knew of the Doctor's past, it would be enough to send anyone into a swirling and un-relentless depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and life of torment and guilt. But what exactly it was now – he didn't know. He whispered to him that was ok, and gently stroked his hair.<br>"NOOO!" the Doctor suddenly yelled, panting and writhing out of Jack's embrace. He was covered in sweat now, and weeping in pain. The nightmares of the past couple of nights hadn't been this bad – just some muttering and jerking, occasional outbursts. Jack couldn't take it anymore – he had to wake up and free him of that agony. But, even then, when he woke he would be confronted with the fact that it (most likely) happened and he had to move on and ignore it.  
>"Hey, it's ok, I'm here Doctor. I'm here. Doctor?" Jack asked, rubbing the Doctor's arm. But the Doctor didn't seem to wake – he was intensely preoccupied. He called his name again and slightly shook him by the shoulder, but the Timelord was still trapped in the nightmare. Jack decided to use a piece of information he had planned to reveal later on, something he found out a little while ago. He grabbed the Doctor's hand, and lent forward to whisper in his ear.<br>"Theta, it's ok. You can wake now…I'm here."

The Doctor seemed to relax slightly at this, and his breathing slowed down again. Jack could almost tell he was shifting from a deep and unsettled sleep to a light, less pained one. The monsters of his sleep weren't going to give up that easily, and he started to give that pained expression again. Suddenly he screamed, and bolted upright, panting in a cold sweat.

Jack was still holding his hand, which suddenly became uncomfortable to do at how strongly it was being squeezed – Timelords were indeed very strong when needing to be. The Doctor slowly observed his surroundings, aware that it was just a dream (no doubt something he came to terms with often) and that he was holding Jack's hand. He dropped it, but Jack didn't let go so hid hand just lay limp instead.  
>"Did… did you…" The Doctor started to ask, wondering if it had just been part of his dream. Jack smiled; he had anticipated that it would elicit a reaction. It wasn't the Doctor's real name, but a name none the less that was from his past.<br>"Never mind." The Doctor concluded. Jack couldn't have said that…  
>"You ok? You seem pained, Theta." Jack said, provocatively enough to make him focus more on the term of address than the question. The Doctor looked at him incredulously, his mouth gaping slightly open.<br>"How do you…?"  
>"I found it out a while ago. While researching all I could about you. But I wasn't sure about it until the Tardis told me."<br>"You won't…"  
>"…No, I won't tell anyone. It'll be just between us."<br>The Doctor looked uncomfortable. Jack closed the gap between them, with inquiring eyes.

"It's just… Koschei would call me that. So long ago. Reminds me… of things that perhaps are better left to the past."

Jack stroked his hair lovingly. "I'm sorry. But… Theta Sigma is still you, and you shouldn't let him determine who you were. Sure Koschei and you were close, and it must hurt a lot knowing what happened –which I don't really – but that was then. And more the actions back then. Gah, I'm not making much sense. But I hope you can get what I mean. Just… not to associate that part of yourself with pain. You have enough of it already than inflicting more on yourself."  
>"I understand. But… I am no different than you in that regard, Jack." <p>

Jack looked at him for a moment. And then he understood.

"I am as much the Doctor now as you are Jack Harkness. Theta Sigma is just another name for me that I abandoned long ago, but I guess you are right about letting that go. Except we both remain with names other than what was given to us."  
>"Maybe one day, we could share." Jack stated, before lowering his head on the pillow and wrapping his arm around the Doctor's figure – indicating that the conversation was over for tonight. The Doctor thought for a moment. Such things would be far, far into the future. For now, he just enjoyed the closeness of the man that was wrapped around him.<p> 


	18. Chapter 18

The sun pierced through the windows, and illuminated Jack's face. He woke, peacefully inhaled and rolled onto his back to look out the window. His eyes widened as he jumped upwards, shouting in shock. The Doctor instantly did the same, snapping his attention outwards to what danger surrounded them, pointing his sonic screwdriver outwards.  
>"What? What is it?" He asked in a hurry.<br>Jack was staring at the dragon's head that was staring at them through the window. It had perked up when it saw them moving, and backed out of sight when it noticed both of the men staring at it. They stood there, feeling a little like they had their privacy invaded. There was a scratch at the door, and Jack steadily approached. He made a motion in the air for the Doctor to stay where he was, in case the dragon attacked. He creaked open the door, and found the dragon there…sitting like a dog with a happy disposition on its face. Between it and Jack was another large pile of fruit…this time assorted varieties from the forest. Jack slowly bent over to pick one piece up, and he could feel the increased excitement of the dragon as he did. For some reason, this creature seemed to enjoy company and caring for others. How, then, did the village see it as a beast? What did happen to the children and travellers, if this is the temperament of the dragon?

The Doctor snuck up behind Jack – he wasn't going to shy away from danger. He pressed himself up against his man and looked at the dragon that was suddenly very interested in him.  
>"You were right… it's acting like a domesticated dog." The doctor stated, coincidentally receiving a snort of disapproval from the dragon. It lowered its head so it was looking up at the Doctor, and inched closer. It let out a slight rumble, with a tone, followed by the unmistakable sound of the Tardis landing. The Doctor frowned in curiosity, and approached the creature. He didn't know what it was, but there was something nagging him in his mind. Like, something he'd forgotten. Something important. Jack nervously tugged the brown trenchcoat, but the Doctor ignored it. He was drawn to the dragon; he hadn't really seen it completely until now. Jack's anxiety heightened as the pair grew closer – he couldn't stop an attack from standing there, behind. The Doctor involuntarily reached out towards it, not registering the danger that it posed. The nose of the dragon slowly touched the palm of the Doctor's outstretched hand and it hummed happily at the contact, closing its eyes.<p>

Suddenly, the Doctor's golden eyes snapped widely open, staring into space – as did the dragon's. There was a flash of bright light emanating from the place of contact that caused Jack to squint, as the Doctor was flung backwards into the room to land on his back. The dragon screeched, and rose onto its hind legs as it grasped its head with its front paws, and fell backwards. Jack leapt to action, diving in between the Doctor and the dragon. The Doctor remained motionless on the floor where he landed, as did the dragon. Jack inspected the Doctor, worried, relieved to find that he seemed only unconscious. He turned his head, glaring at the dragon, and noticed that it seemed to be in the same state – causing him to realise that this probably wasn't done by the dragon in an attempt to harm the Doctor. He almost felt sorry for it, as it lay motionless in the snow, while he shut the door to keep in the heat.

Jack knelt next to the Doctor, lifting his chest into his lap. Jack gripped the sides of the motionless face with one hand as he supported the Doctor's (surprising) weight with the other.  
>"Doctor – Doctor please wake up, you're ok… come on." Jack nervously uttered into the silence – but received no response.<p>

_The Doctor opened his eyes to see nothing but white. Was he blind? Slowly, things started to come into contrast and the Doctor realised he was looking at a wide open field covered in snow on a bright day. But – he was moving. In the air. He realised he wasn't inside his body – he was just floating above, speeding towards a mountain. There were snow-covered pines that littered the place, as if it were the edge of a forest. There was a hole in the side of a mountain, a large gaping cave that appeared like the mouth of a beast. He tried to make a sound as he realised where he was, but nothing would come out. He didn't have mouth or body – just consciousness. For a moment he feared he had died – permanently this time – and was a ghost. He didn't have much time to think about it, for within a moment he was flying through the mouth of the cave and into darkness. Suddenly, he became aware of his body again. _

_He was standing there, at the base of an enormous cavern that must have hollowed out the entire mountain. There was fire lighting the base, but the main source of light came from a hole in the roof that allowed the glaring sun to shine downwards upon the central spire in the cave. The spire itself was probably a large stalagmite, the largest he'd ever seen, with a plateau on the top. It would have been easily 40 m tall, with no way to get up there. As he looked, he saw a glimmer of blue. Brilliant blue. It was his Tardis. There was a silent flapping, and the dragon flew up and landed on the spire holding his beloved box. He realised that he was rising upwards, and getting closer to the dragon._

_It stood there, looking deep within him with its cyan blue eyes. A voice then reverberated in his mind as the dragon opened its mouth – but his ears heard no sound. He couldn't tell what it sounded like, only what it was saying.  
>"Is it you?"<br>The Doctor remained stationary – he wasn't sure how to do anything else. For some reason, he knew that it was the dragon that was speaking to him. There was silence. _

"_Is it you?"_

_The question was repeated. Was he supposed to answer? What did it mean? The Doctor was able to change his expression to confused – only aware then that he could, but at the same time knew that he had no real body to make expression with. It was strange. The dragon made a noise, audible, and stepped aside to rub its head on the Tardis' door. The Tardis made a gentle hum of pleasure. It must have seen – or sensed – a reaction from the Doctor when she did this, since it snapped its attention back on him. It then spoke a word, just one word, inside the Doctor's head. _

_From the Doctor's reaction, the dragon seemed to know that it had struck a chord and answered its own question. It nudged the air towards the Doctor, and there appeared a large silver-gold glowing orb. It was semi-transparent, like a projection, and the colour within it swirled slowly. _

"_Find me."_

_The Doctor tried again to speak, to ask a question. But he couldn't use his mouth. The dragon gave a quick roar, and the voice repeated. _

"_Find me." _

_It seemed urgent. But he didn't know why, or what it was. But somehow, he knew that he had to find this orb. It seemed vaguely familiar now that he looked at it. He, without realising it, reached outwards to touch it. And this time, his hand actually moved towards the floating glowing orb. The Tardis cried out and the dragon roared, and then the cavern became increasingly bright until the world swirled away. And there was only darkness. _


	19. Chapter 19

Jack had moved the Doctor closer to the fire. He had been unconscious for a long time. He wasn't sure how long, since there weren't any clocks around. He sat there, the motionless Timelord in his lap, stroking the brown hair gently. He had thrown a blanket over the Doctor, and now he padded down his forehead occasionally. Jack couldn't tell why this kept happening. He knew that the Doctor attracted bad luck, but…not this often. This was almost like he was going out _looking_ for trouble. Jack tried not to follow that train of thought, that the Doctor really had become self-destructive. Sure there was reason, and he'd seen it before, but he was worried that maybe it was devolving into something worse. Why- why when they had finally, after all this time, gotten together that this would happen? Jack had to pace himself and look back at his thoughts. He was jumping to paranoid conclusions.

The Doctor groaned, and started to wiggle. Jack's heart jumped as he grabbed the side of the Doctor's face.  
>"Doctor! Doctor thank god, I was worried!" Jack quickly stated, pushing his forehead onto the cold skin of the Timelord. The Doctor was softly panting, and reached up with his hand to grasp Jack's.<br>"You were out of it for a long time. I didn't know what it had done to you. Or if the dragon had done anything at all…because it seems to be unconscious too."

The Doctor remained silent. He was still slightly stunned – there was that distinct feeling that what he saw wasn't a dream. He'd been unconscious many times, but never had he dreamt anything, and it didn't feel like a dream. And it knew.

Jack pressed a gentle kiss on the Doctor's lips as he hugged him tighter.  
>"You really have to stop doing this to me." Jack quietly uttered, playfully, before returning to give another kiss before he intended on getting up. It was at this moment that the door swung open and in barged Galdir and Draegr. Their eyes fell upon the pair on the floor, and they instantly became sheepish. They took a step backwards from their grand entrance, and averted their eyes. The pair on the floor broke apart instantly, the Doctor looking highly embarrassed.<br>"We's sorry, youse two. Just when we saw tha' note yehs left us, we knews tha' there'd be trouble. We thought youse'd be eaten or get lost or freeze ta death or…"  
>"They get it, Galdir." Draegr interrupted. His smile beamed at them, warm and inviting. It seemed out of place with his ruff appearance and thick attire. Galdir shut the door while Jack drew them inside to sit on the chairs.<p>

"So you came to help us? That's sweet. Isn't that sweet, Doc?"

The Doctor was still distracted, and not really registering. Jack noticed, and touched him on the arm.  
>"Everything ok Doc? You've been vague since you woke. You feeling ok?"<br>"It's like… I can't remember something that I've forgotten. There's something missing. And that orb – I've seen it before, I know it, but I can't remember ever having seen it. I have to find it."  
>"Doctor, I love you, but you're not making any sense." Jack answered, more than slightly confused. Orb? What orb? What was he talking about? Jack looked back at him, as he stared outwards into space while sitting in the chair. The Doctor continued, as the Captain kneeled in front of him.<br>"I saw it – in a… a… vision I suppose. In the cave. I was floating, flying, from here into the cave of the dragon. I stopped, and there she was – the Tardis – parked up high upon a precipice that was illuminated from a hole in the cavern wall. Such a large cavern. Then the dragon flew up there … and spoke to me, in my mind… it asked me, 'is it you'. I don't know what it meant. It knew the Tardis. Then it told me to find it, and showed me the orb. Wait… the Tardis. The orb is on the Tardis… from a long time ago. I think. It feels like from an eternity ago, but … so recent. Jack I have to find it."

The Doctor spoke the last sentence directly to his partner, expressing the urgency.  
>"Yes, ok, fine… I'm not going to argue with you. But that still leaves us with a problem: We're in here, and the Tardis is in that cave."<p>

Before the Doctor could respond, Draegr cut in.

"We can help youse there. Now we mightn' know what this Tardis 'o yours is, but it sure does sound important to youse. An' tha's what we do – we help each other out. The Beast will no doubt try ta kill yehs before youse get near the place, so Galdir 'n I'll distract it. We've – well I have – had plenty 'o experience not gettin' killed by it."  
>" – Wait wha? Drae, I ain' no soldier, I can' help ya fight off anythin'. I's just plain no good there – most I can do's hide under a rock or somthin'." Galdir snapped in, begging to not be part of Draegr's fighting plan.<p>

"Ahk, Galdir, relax will yeh? We's just going to distract it long enough for these two to run in and get their Tardis out. So basically, run 'n not die."

Galdir muttered something about liking the 'not die' part of the plan, but fearing the fact that it was needed to be included in it in the first place. Jack sensed his new friend's unease.

"We thank you, really, for what you're willing to do for us. But… we were thinking of something a little different. Listen, we've met this beast of yours – it was just outside the door, actually, just before you arrived-"  
>"-Yeah, I saw the snowmarks." Draegr interrupted.<br>" – so it must have flown off by now. But my point was – we don't think it's as dangerous as you say. I've seen it. It acts more like a puppy than a ferocious beast. I just think that maybe your perceptions are misguided."  
>"There ain' nothin' misguiding 'bout people goin' missin, Jack." Galdir added, a fair point Jack conceded.<p>

Jack was about to make a comment in response, but the Doctor suddenly snapped to attention.  
>"I get it… it's so obvious now!" He shouted to the room, to be greeted with surprised and somewhat concerned looks. He looked at Jack expectantly, waiting for it to click in Jack's mind as well. But he only received an inquisitive yet blank stare.<p>

"It's telepathic!" He concluded, excitedly. Jack smiled in his mind – it was this problem solving that the Doctor loved, and he was so adorable when he got excited about it.  
>"It spoke to me – in the vision – in my mind. We have to find it, we have to-" the Doctor stated as he leapt up. However, he didn't realise that he was still weakened and ended up dropping straight to the floor. Lucky for him, Jack was still right in front of him and so managed to catch him and lower him downwards.<br>"May I suggest we wait here for at least a few minutes?" Jack said with a smile, helping the Doctor back into the chair. It was strange for him to get this weakened from unconsciousness, the Doctor pondered as he sat. He hated waiting.


	20. Chapter 20

The group talked for about half an hour; Jack describing his encounters with the 'Beast' and listening to Drae's and Galdir's past experiences that seemed to contradict his arguments. The Doctor did what he did best, and gave an alternative point of view for each event mentioned – showing how simple, non-aggressive things can be misconstrued. Deciding that he had waited long enough, the Doctor stood up and headed for the door.  
>"Allons-y! I can't stand sitting here any longer. I'll show you that the dragon won't harm us."<br>Jack happily followed, the other two less joyously so. They headed towards the cave, around the lake this time - the Doctor and Jack were more than a little anxious about it still. Draegr smiled at the pair in front of him walking together holding hands. Galdir took this opportunity to bring up his loneliness again, and as much as he appreciated his friend caring about him, and wanting to help, he just wasn't in the mood. The Beast could be lurking behind anything – and that's when it would strike the most: when you let your guard down.

It wasn't long before they stopped out the front of the cave's mouth. Draegr was tense, and grabbed Jack's shoulder.

"Are yeh sure about this? Cause if your wrong, we ain't able to take it back."  
>"Well, I can. But I am sure…the Doctor knows what he is doing and I trust that man to the end of the universe and time itself." Jack uttered behind him whilst the Doctor took the lead. Draegr nodded, but remained adamant that they were all in terrible danger. They hadn't stepped far into the cave before they could feel the heat that was radiating outwards from inside. They expected it to get darker and darker, but the shadows contained a faint orange glow in the distance that flickered occasionally. The opening was huge; room enough for the waterfall above the Torchwood hub to have fitted. The airflow passing in and out created a ghastly howl as if a large monster was breathing down their necks. Jack felt that it should be inherently eerie, but couldn't help but feel it actually warm and inviting. The Doctor kept the pace up, eager to reach the end of the cave – he seemed to know exactly where he was going, and not phased that they hadn't seen any sign of the dragon as of yet.<p>

As the Doctor expected, the cave opened up to an extremely large cavern – it really did appear as if the entire mountain was hollow. Flames rose up on the sides of the cave, illuminating the rock walls and allowing the insides to be seen clearly – the various stalactites and stalagmites that were scattered about and small pockets of cave here and there. And there it was, right where he had seen it in the vision…his Tardis. Jack beamed and the Doctor exclaimed a noise of joy at the sight of the brilliant blue box, basking in the glow of the light shining down upon it from the hole in the roof. The Doctor was then met with another problem: it was 40m above them, with no way to get up there.  
>"I hate to point out the obvious here Doctor – but how did you envision we reach her?" Jack asked, trying hard not to sound too provocative.<br>"Working on it, Jack. Um… ok let's just have a bit of a look around, see if we can see anything that might help."  
>"I don't think we'll find a jetpack in here, love." Jack uttered under his breath while he walked towards the fire. It was continuously burning from some kind of liquid that ran along near the wall, and Jack wondered if the dragon had put it there. But something else crossed his mind as he inspected what drew him there closer.<p>

"Doctor – come and see this."  
>"In a minute Jack."<br>"No, really… you have to see this."

The Doctor exasperatedly dropped the rock he was looking at and walked over to meet Jack. The other two men were carefully looking at the cave's entrance for signs that the Beast was returning. Placing a hand on Jack's shoulder, the Doctor looked upon the cave wall. All across it there were drawings – all drawn on top of scorched black stone, either by carving away back into the original rock wall or painting over the top of the blackened wall. While this in itself would have been interesting – there was one aspect that Jack was pointing to that made the Doctor understand his urgency. There, in front of them, was a large box shape, with an angled top and wider base, painted the brightest blue. The Tardis.

"How?" The Doctor uttered, relatively speechless. He reached out, and gently brushed his fingers over the blue form. His eye wandered to the side, where there was an interpretation of a human figure standing there, much like the many other human figures on the wall – except this one was smiling. A clear, distinct smile. He drew his hand to touch the figure now, running it down the body. Drawn over the top of this figure, and only this figure, was a long brown coat that stretched down to the 'ankles'.  
>"It's me." He uttered to the wall. He and Jack then took a closer look of the other images – some painted on top of the blackened surface and others not; some were of humans baring weapons and crowding upon what looked like a primitive dragon figure that was curled up submissively beneath the attacking mob – these images were drawn without the black backing. As were the ones of the dragon figure picking up people and putting them in a village. The blackened ones, however, were much different. Alien scenes and items were depicted (or the likeness of the drawings were so bad that they just looked alien), running, flying, and the Tardis with the Doctor. And then, there was one different drawing. It was on the other side of the big Tardis shape, and just as large: it was a circle, white on the outside and fading to nothing inside. But on the inside was another drawing of the dragon, cramped inside the circle and in pain.<p>

"This is it – the Orb, Jack. It's here! It's all here…. Jack, this might sound crazy, but I think this is a visual depiction of the dragon's life, done by the dragon." The Doctor said, positively bouncing at the spot where he looked at the orb drawing. Jack looked at the wall, and nodded.  
>"Yeah, ok, I can see that. But what does it mean?"<p>

The Doctor beamed higher at this, it was just the question he was waiting for. He walked back towards Jack, trailing his hand along the wall as he did so.  
>"You see this? I think this is telling us about the dragon's encounters outside of the cave with the people of this world. You can see the groups hunting it, and it clearly looks to be frightened by it. And this – this looks like the forest, and it's flying above it with a person – and putting it in a village. And and this… Jack, this is brilliant… the scorch marks. I think the scorch marks on the wall show that these scenes are dreams…the burnt rock showing that it happened in the dark, you know, night – when you close your eyes, it's black. It's been dreaming of the Tardis, and of me…and running it seems."<br>"Well it's got you down-pat." Jack remarked, loving how excited the Doctor was about problem solving.  
>"And this orb, Jack. I know I've seen it before…but I don't know what it means."<br>"I think it means the dragon is trapped inside it." Jack said plainly, chuckling. He was the humorous one in problem solving games these days. He didn't mind though – he liked having fun, and thoroughly enjoyed watching the Doctor do what he did best.

_Yes._

Jack spun around to see where the voice had come from, the bottom of his stomach dropping and feeling like ice was poured over him. The Doctor turned around to see what Jack was looking at, and froze. Standing right behind them was the dragon. It made a few growling noises, and looked towards the exit where Galdir and Draegr stood – having just realised that their Beast was inside already. The expression it bore dropped – spines and horns flattening downwards as it took steps backwards. The tone that erupted from its toothed mouth was that of a sorrowful groan mixed with the growling harshness of the dragon's roar. This didn't deter Draegr from running towards it – baring the weapon he carried with him. Before he got too close, the dragon leapt backwards to hide in one of the little nooks inside the cave. Jack stood in between him and the dragon, raising his arms in a bid to stop him. Draegr came to a halt, demanding to know why Jack was protecting this monster. Jack shouted back at him, while the Doctor crept around the edge of the cave to peer where the dragon hid. 

"It's ok, we won't hurt you." The Doctor spoke to it in soothing tones. He stepped into the nook that he understood to be where the dragon slept – it housed a large pile of soft bedding against the wall, and a large pile of embers mixed with glowing hot rocks in the middle of the semi-circle that was embossed into the wall. The dragon was lying on its bed, head upon the floor, and slightly whining – just like a dog. _It's ok_, the Doctor spoke in his mind, _we won't hurt you._

_Help me. _


	21. Chapter 21

The Doctor's eyes widened at the response he received in his mind. He hadn't realised that he could communicate in such a way with the dragon – but it seemed so obvious now. He was just about to start walking towards the dragon when a hand grabbed his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Jack standing behind him.

"Doctor, be careful." Jack warned, as the Doctor broke free from his grip. He remained stationary, just looking at the Timelord with a concerned look. Something had caught the Doctor's attention…something small and shiny lying upon the rock sticking out of the wall above the dragon. It rose its head to look at the object as well as the Doctor approached, and cautiously reached out for it. The metal scraped against the stone as he pulled the string for it to fall into his palm. A sad yet curious tone reverberated from within the dragon's chest as the Doctor stared at what he held.

"Doctor…what is it?" 

In a sweeping motion, the Doctor turned around and looked up at Jack incredulously. Slowly, he lifted the object up into the air by the string it was attached to for him to see.

"A Tardis key. The dragon has a key to the Tardis."

"….What?" was all Jack could think to say. The Doctor returned to throw himself in Jack's arms for support. Still stunned from the key revelation, Jack staggered a bit at the sudden impact but still lovingly wrapped his arms around the Timelord.

"Jack… how? How could it have this? I haven't seen this creature before in my life, so that must mean that I'm forgetting some large portion of my memory. That scares me, Jack. It really does."

There was silence for a moment while Jack just rubbed the Doctor's back. It was rare that the Doctor behaved in this way, so Jack didn't want to put him off sharing his feelings. But he could understand – the one thing the Doctor valued the most was his mind, and it must be shattering to his security to learn that it had been tampered with without his knowledge.

"Doc, you travel in time – what if you meet this thing in the future?"

There was a shaking of his head whilst buried in Jack's chest in response. He regained his composure and stood backwards.

"No. I can feel that this key is old. It's a Timelord thing, I don't expect you to understand."

"Ok. Then what now?"

The Doctor thought for a moment, looking about. Draegr and Galdir had no idea what was going on, but didn't seem to mind. He looked at his Tardis, resting upon the pedestal. She spoke to him, in his mind, and then he knew what to do. He had to get the Orb that the dragon was after. He took a few steps closer to the dragon again, and pointed to the Tardis.

_Take me to my Tardis. I will find the Orb. _He spoke in his mind to the dragon. It didn't seem to understand on that level, but was able to work out that the Doctor wanted what he was pointing at: the blue box.

Within a flash, the dragon had lept into the air, and grabbed the Doctor. Jack screamed, but it was too late. It wasn't a moment later before the dragon set the Doctor gently upon the stone precipice next to the Tardis, and landed beside it. The doors opened and the Doctor happily strode in. The dragon tried to follow, but the door was shut before it could try fitting inside. The Tardis began to disappear, with the characteristic noise reverberating throughout the cavern. Once the dragon realised it was fading away, it began to yell worriedly and try to grab the box – to no avail. When it was gone, it sat upon the stone and gave a loud mourning cry out into the darkness. It still sounded like a dragon, Jack decided, but it was the most beautiful sound – the perfect tones were so sorrowful, Jack even began to well up and shed tears along with it.

For what seemed like an eternity, filled with the sad song of the dragon, the Tardis was gone. Then when Jack felt he couldn't take any more before he broke down from the cry, the Tardis began to materialise at the base of the rock tower. The screeching pierced the silence, and broke apart the mournful tune of the dragon. The blue box landed, and the Doctor stepped out. He was almost crushed by the dragon, which had dropped to the ground faster than gravity would allow. There was a rumble of the rocks, and a soft crackling, but the cave remained intact. The dragon hummed happily, its song changing to relief and joy. Jack felt overwhelmed with happiness now – he couldn't remember why he was sad. That ability of the dragon's is powerful, Jack thought to himself as he ran to the Doctor. They embraced in a brief hug before the Doctor turned to the dragon.

"I always wondered why I had this. Who it belonged to. I have many…hidden away within the depths of the Tardis…but I forgot about them. I think this one belongs to you." The Doctor spoke, as he handed a bright shining white-blue orb to the dragon. Upon grabbing it, the orb exploded into light that engulfed the dragon, who closed its eyes and allowed to be overtaken. Jack took the Doctor by the hand while they watched.

"What is it?"  
>"Those orbs hold different things of people. This one, I believe, held the soul and mind of this dragon."<p>

Before Jack could ask one of the more questions the doctor's answer evoked, the transformation was complete and the light faded – absorbed by the dragon. It looked down upon them, and smiled. A real smile. As the Doctor looked, he saw a new-found intelligence within the face of the creature.

"Doctor." It spoke happily, a clear wise voice emanating from its mouth. "I knew you would find me again." It stepped forward and embraced the Doctor in a somewhat awkward hug. It looked at the Doctor, pausing as if waiting for a response, and then its features dropped. It shifted its gaze between the Doctor and Jack, and noticed their holding hands. It sat down, disheartened.

"You don't remember, do you?" It said glumly, and looked at the ground.

"Who are you?" The Doctor asked, receiving yet another slight wince of pain from the dragon.

"I am Wedge…or at least that's what you know me as. Or knew, rather. I wish I could tell you more, I really do. But I can't. Maybe one day you'll know why. And when that day comes, I can reveal all to you – but until then, you cannot know. I'm so sorry."

The dragon, Wedge, nuzzled the Doctor gently, tears in its eyes.

"I have missed you dearly, my love."

The Doctor remained still, utterly confused. Jack became indignant to the last comment, and snorted.

"If I knew you…why can't I remember? Why do you have a Tardis Key?"  
>"I had to take myself out of your memories. Not unlike you have done before – but a little differently. There wasn't any choice… I had to. I'm so sorry. I really am. But there was no alternative. As for the key – you gave me that, long ago. I somehow managed to keep it with me. Not that I really needed it I suppose, since she'd let me in anyway – but it was a memento of a past I had been removed from."<p>

Jack wanted in on the conversation. "So…why were you in the ball, and in the cave?" 

The dragon looked at him for a moment, and gave him a look of condescension.

"I sacrificed myself to save him. I died – but I was able to use one last ability my species has just in time. My mind and soul were taken away, and trapped in the Orb. The energy of my body disappeared and travelled across the stars and fell here where they reformed. But I was just a primitive body. The real me was in there – waiting for the day when the Doctor would remember or find me. But he found me too early. Or late."

Jack could definitely pick up an annoyed tone present in the dragon's voice – for some reason, it didn't like him very much. It was definitely spitting the information at him as if he were a child. Well, maybe he was in its eyes he thought.

While the Doctor processed this information, the dragon sorrowfully walked over to the Tardis. It gave another sad tone as it stroked the outside.

"Goodbye old friend. Until we meet again." It uttered quietly, and nuzzled the outside of the blue box. It returned towards the doctor. Before it could do the same to him, Draegr cut in.

"Hey! You have a lot to answer for! The villagers you have killed…their families deserve retribution!" He shouted, still afraid of what was going on. Snapping its attention to the stout man, it bore its teeth.

"I killed no one! They are in the other villages. I couldn't tell which human came from where – so when I found them lost and cold in the forest I tried to put them back. I'm sorry if I got the wrong villages. I did try to tell you that they were safe – I brought them their snow clothing, to show you that they were safe and no longer needed them. You took that to mean I killed them?"

Finished with Draegr and Galdir, it returned its attention to the Doctor.

"I have to go. I don't belong here. I'll find you again one day, I promise. I won't abandon you again. Never again. I wish I could ask you not to forget me, but you already have. As much as it hurts, I know I must move on. Goodbye, my love, my dearest..."

The dragon said the last word of that sentence in the Doctor's mind. His eyes widened in shock, and he looked at the creature again…but differently this time. He placed his hand on its forhead, feeling the extremely smooth diamond-like scales slide against his skin. He wasn't sure why, but he was feeling immensely sad to see it go. It was like his hearts were weeping to say goodbye, while his mind was still confused because there was a huge section of his past he wasn't allowed to know. He gently kissed it on the nose, unsure entirely as to why. Then from deep within him, a single word came up and he spoke it in his mind to the dragon. It smiled, sorrowfully, and stood up straight.

It opened its great wings, and took off into the air – bright white light forming around it. Before the wings beat again, it had faded away. The Doctor stood there, staring at where the dragon had disappeared, overwhelmed with a confusing feeling of loss. Jack stepped closer, and grabbed his hand again. The Doctor smiled, and rested his head upon Jack's strong shoulder.

"I think it's time we left." He spoke to the man resting upon him.

"Yeah." The Doctor spoke. He straightened up, and smiled again to Jack. "Time we moved on."

They turned around, and said their goodbyes to Draegr and Galdir. Drae' promised to find the lost villagers and get them safely home – including his little daughter that had been taken the first night. With a departing hug, the pair returned to the Tardis and shut the door, departing. Time for this adventure to end, and another begin. After all, the Doctor happily thought as he clung to the controls, there was much to discover now.


End file.
